You're Cute When You Scream
by Kativa-chan
Summary: At 3 Naruto was adopted by the Uchiha's. At 7 Itachi killed them all. Sasuke blames Naruto, treats him as a slave & uses him as a tool for revenge. What happens when Sasuke takes it to far? When Sasuke realizes how much he loves him will it be too late? SasuNaru, others [Indefinite Hiatus]
1. Death

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

I had this story up a while ago, and it seemed to be my most popular story. However, I reread it and ugh, it was just so bad. I desperately needed to re-write it. Not many things are changed, per-say, but I fixed grammar and punctuation mistakes, made it a bit longer, and did change a few little things.

**Warnings**: Yaoi, possible NCS, lots of angst, character death, abuse

**Pairings**: SasuNaru, others

This is a very short prologue. The rest of the chapters will not be this short.

This story is inspired by the song 'You're Cute When You Scream' by 'Senses Fail'

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><p>"Dead. They're all dead Naruto! And you don't even care! How can you not even care?" Sasuke screamed as Naruto sniffed. There were tears running down his whiskered cheeks. They were his family too...<em>Of course<em> he cared! What did Sasuke think? Did he really think he didn't care about his family? He loved them, and he hated that this happened. It hurt him so much, as much as it hurt Sasuke. Why else would he be crying?

"You're not a part of this family, and you never were! You weren't born an Uchiha, you were adopted . You were lucky to be adopted by my parents. No one else wanted a monster like you. And now they're gone Naruto! It's all your fault that they're dead! If my parents didn't adopt you, aniki wouldn't have killed anyone! It's you! It's all your fault!" Sasuke said as he grabbed the young boys' wrists tightly, twisting it painfully, purposely trying to cause pain on the Naruto.

"Sasuke, stop, please. You're hurting me." Naruto whimpered, trying his best to get his wrist out of Sasuke's grasp. The raven was holding on too tight, and the more he pulled, the more his wrist hurt. Sasuke was never like this before! How could Sasuke blame him so easily? They were so close! Inseparable! And now...now Sasuke hated him. And Naruto wasn't even the one to blame! It was Itachi! Itachi was the one who killed everyone. Naruto had nothing to do with it!

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled as he backhanded Naruto, who wasn't expecting this, and fell to the floor. He reached a hand to his cheek in shock. Sasuke never hit him...Well, unless they were sparring, but that was a completely different story!

"From now on, you listen to me and only me!"

"But Sasuke-"

A loud slap echoed throughout the room and Naruto slowly brought his hand to his right cheek, unable to believe that Sasuke had actually slapped him.

"Shut up! Don't speak! Don't whimper, _don't do anything_!" Sasuke yelled, and Naruto tried his best to hold back his tears. The two of them were so close. And now look what had happened. Their relationship would never be the same again. Naruto loved Sasuke so much. Sasuke was his older brother!

"I'll get revenge on him. I'll kill him, torture him for doing this," Sasuke said as he looked over to Naruto, his eyes held such hatred and anger. Something Naruto had never seen in Sasuke's eyes before.

"And you're going to help me."


	2. Graves

A/N: This story is an AU, and Naruto is two years younger than Sasuke. So when the massacre occurred, Naruto was seven and Sasuke was nine.

Everyone seems to like it so far! Feel free to give me any suggestions/comments for what you'd like to see in this story! Anything at all. If it fits in with the storyline, I may use it!

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><p>Naruto sat at a desk in his bedroom, scribbling something in what looked like an old, worn out book. It was smaller than a normal book, and had a dirty brown cover. The pages he wrote on had no lines and were an off white. He flipped a good amount of pages before he got to a blank page. He opened one of the drawers, pulled out a pen, and began writing.<p>

_Today is the one year anniversary since our family was killed. Sasuke and I are going to their graves today. We're going to put flowers around their graves and clean up, the same thing we do every year. The Uchiha's own a fairly large, separate part of Konoha's cemetery. This is where everyone in our family is buried. Whether it be from many years ago, or from one year ago today, when the Uchiha massacre took place. _

_A year had passed since that horrible day. A year since they were all murdered. A year since we've seen Itachi. We heard rumor's that he joined a group called Akatsuki, but rumors are only rumors until proven true. I don't even know what Akatsuki is, but it doesn't sound good! A year has also passed since Sasuke started treating me different._

It was always the same thing every time. I'd try to be nice, and I'd try to comfort him, try to make him feel a little better, but in the end, he'd always get mad at me. He'd hit me, and he'd push me away. And I don't just mean physically. He'd mentally push me away. He'd tell me that he needed me as a tool for revenge, and when he got his revenge he'd be done with me. I'm 8 years old now. Even though a year has passed he still blames me for the family's massacre. He vows revenge on our brother Itachi, and me! He makes me do whatever he says. He even makes me stay two steps behind him when we walk. He does it because he says embarrassed to be seen with me. I'm hated by this village so much, and _he thinks_ it's because of our family's death. But no, it's not because of that. It's because I have the Kyuubi sealed inside of me. When I was born, Kyuubi attacked our village. Kyuubi is the nine-tailed fox demon. And, in order to save the village, the Yondaime Hokage sealed him away inside of me, losing his life in the process. He meant for me to be a hero. The children my age don't know about me, but their parents do. Their parents give me dirty looks, and utter the words 'monster' under the breaths. Their children see the hatred, and also begin to hate me. I can't tell Sasuke about it though, because it would give him even more of a reason to use me as a tool, a tool of revenge against Itachi. And I really don't want that.

"Naruto! Where the hell are you?" Sasuke shouted, sounded angry and annoyed. Naruto quickly slammed his journal (He _refused_ to call it a diary. Diary made it sound too girly) shut and ran over to his bed. He slid over to the empty floorboard by his bed. All he had to do was bang one end of the loose floorboard gently, and the other side of the board would pop up. Naruto hid a few things in there aside from his journal. He also hid a few cups of instant ramen in case he got hungry and Sasuke didn't let him eat, and when Sasuke yelled at him for eating ramen. He usually forbid Naruto from eating ramen, especially instant ramen. Sasuke always said 'that stuff is bad for you!'. He hid this strange looking rock-like gem that Sasuke gave him when he was four. Naruto had put it into a necklace, and wore it often; hidden underneath all of his clothes, but never when there might be even the slightest possibility that Sasuke would see it. If Sasuke saw it, he would take it away.

The gem was one of the few things that Naruto had to remember the _old_Sasuke by other than his memories.

"Naruto, why didn't you answer me?" Sasuke asked as he walked up to Naruto and yanked him up harshly by his hair, causing Naruto to wince at the pain as Sasuke twisted his blond locks in his hand.

"I…I'm sorry Sasuke." Naruto answered, trying his best to escape Sasuke's harsh grasp.

"You're sorry? You're always _sorry_ Naruto. Sorry is just an empty word coming from the likes of _you_. Let's get going." Sasuke said as he let go of Naruto and pushed him away. Naruto fell to the ground. Sasuke looked disapprovingly at him. He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and continued walking on.

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><p>Today is the 1 year anniversary of the Uchiha massacre. Both boys were dressed in clean black pants and a crisp black shirt. Both had also taken the day off from the Konoha Academy in order to visit the family graves. Their teacher had understood. He knew it was a hard day for both of them. He saw the sadness in their eyes, and he also noticed how differently the pair acted since their families death one year ago.<p>

As Naruto ran out the door to catch up with Sasuke, he snatched an umbrella and shut the door behind him.

"Dobe what are you doing? It's not going to rain." Sasuke said as Naruto caught up with him

"Yes, it is." Naruto replied. There weren't many clouds out, and it was actually a pretty nice day. But Naruto believed that it always rained on funerals, and it always rained whenever people went to visit graves. It was like the sky was crying.

"Hn, whatever dobe. Hurry up, you walk too slowly." Sasuke said, quickening his pace, not believing that it would rain today. The sky was rather clear, only a handful of clouds. It didn't _feel_like rain either, nor had the weather in the newspaper mentioned anything about rain for the next few days.

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><p>A few minutes later they arrived at Yamanaka flower shop. It was the only flower shop in the village, so it was well known and very popular. A young blue-eyed blonde girl was there with the owner, who also had blonde hair and a set of eyes that matched the little girls. He was presumably her father. The little girl took a secret glance at Sasuke, but quickly turned away blushing. Naruto laughed gently. She must have a crush on Sasuke.<p>

They bought roses, enough to place one on each grave, and two extra bouquets so they could place one on their mother and father's graves.

Within minutes, they entered the graveyard going their separate ways. They had a large family, so there were a lot of graves to visit. Naruto sorrowfully, gazed at the names on the graves. Naruto was 3 when the family adopted him and 7 when they were killed. He considered them his family from the day he got adopted, and still would in years to come. After the massacre, Sasuke always said how Naruto was never part of the family. How Naruto shouldn't even consider Sasuke as a brother, because Sasuke never considered him as a brother. But Naruto knew Sasuke was lying. Those four years they spent as a family didn't lie. The memories they had together weren't a lie. He didn't care whether or not Sasuke saw him as a brother, but he did know that Sasuke cared.

Even though he didn't show it.

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><p>It was pouring now, just as Naruto had predicted. Sasuke hadn't believed him. Something Naruto was already used to.<p>

Sasuke sighed falling to his knees. Mud splattered onto his soaked clothes. He leaned forward until his palms touched the ground, clenching his fists tightly, getting them dirty.

He was in front of his parents' graves.

Sasuke was tainted by his parents' death. Even though his older brother took away his childhood, his innocence (Not in the sexual way) behind all the curses and anger. Beyond the want for power, and eagerness for revenge. Behind all the hatred…

…Sasuke was just a little 10 year old boy yearning for his parents love.

He could feel tears slowly stream down his face and fall to the ground, blending in with the raindrops that were falling from the sky. Suddenly, he wasn't getting wet anymore. In confusion, he looked up and saw Naruto leaning forward, holding the umbrella, covering him from the rain. He held out his hand, reaching out for Sasuke's.

Sasuke took it and stood up, pulling Naruto close to him to an tight embrace, no longer caring that the tears ran down his face. When he hugged NAruto, he go mud all over him, but Naruto didn't mind. The blond leaned in and hugged the boy back. Naruto was crying too. He missed everyone just as much as Sasuke did. Regardless of everything though, it felt so nice to be hugged by Sasuke again. It felt nice to feel safe again.

"Come on Sasuke, let's go home, and change out of these dirty, wet clothes before we get sick." Naruto said as he led Sasuke out of the graveyard. They intertwined their pointer and middle fingers with each others. (1) They had spent over three hours there without realizing it.

It was times like this that Naruto truly believed that he would one day have the old Sasuke back. The old Sasuke that Naruto loved, the old Sasuke that he played with, the old Sasuke that gave him that shining gem all those years ago.

**Flashback**

_"Wow Sasuke! It's so huge back here! I can get lost!" Little 4-year old Naruto said as he looked around the huge backyard. 6 year old Sasuke stood behind him, smiling. He always wanted a little brother, and now he had one._

_Sasuke glanced to his left and saw something shining. He walked over and picking up the shining object. It was an orange stone, almost like a rock, except it was shaped like a large diamond. He raised it up high and watched as it shimmered in the sun._

_'Hmm, Naruto really likes orange, maybe he'll like this.' Sasuke thought, looking over to the blond_

_"Here Naruto, I found this. Maybe you'll like it."_

**End Flashback**

"Go do the laundry first, Naruto, and then you can take a shower." Sasuke said casually as he stripped down, and threw his clothes at Naruto, who was already staggering with more clothes that the pair had worn throughout the week

This is how it always was. He would be nice to Sasuke, comfort him, Sasuke would let him do it, and maybe even be nice. Then it would all change and Sasuke would be mean to him. It wasn't anything new, and after a whole year, Naruto was almost used to it. But why did he have to do laundry? Why did he have to clean the house while Sasuke stood by, doing nothing? Sasuke was rich, very rich, he was actually one of the richest people in Konoha. Why couldn't he just hire a maid? A maid would be able to do everything in half the time it took Naruto.

"Okay Sasuke." Naruto replied, as he went off to do the laundry that had piled up over the week.

'Tomorrow will be better.' Naruto thought to himself, smiling.

He said the same thing every day for the passed week.

And it was only getting worse.

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><p>(1) Like they did in the animemanga when they were children!


	3. Genin

Eleven year old Naruto got up from in his bed slowly. A weird feeling passed through him as he looked at the calendar. He yawned loudly, and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. The date, October 10th was circled sloppily in red crayon. Today was Naruto's eleventh birthday. He sighed sadly. There was no point in even thinking about his birthday. He knew Sasuke wouldn't care about his birthday. He stopped caring about his birthday a long time ago, along with caring about him at all.

Naruto sighed as he got dressed in his normal clothes. It was an orange pair of pants, and an orange sweater with blue along the neckline. The collar was white and fluffy. The Genin exam was in a week, and if he didn't pass, Sasuke would be really mad. Madder than Naruto had ever seen him before. Which was why he _had_to pass.

Out of habit, Naruto reached under the floorboard for his journal, grabbed it and a pen, and began writing.

_Normally, when kids become Genin's, they're around the ages of 12, and 13, but Sasuke wants me to become one now, even though I'm eleven. Since our family died, he's been pushing me to become as strong as I could, so, even though I'm younger he wants me to be on the same team as him so he can…watch me. I'll never get away from him. He treats me so badly, but I can't help myself to still care about him. I'll keep on trying to make him smile, and I'll keep being nice to him. I know he wants revenge on our brother, but, what would he have after the revenge? Girls watch him and get excited when they see him. Our sensei's are always so impressed by him, and the elders are proud of how strong he is. Everyone says that they love him, but they don't really know him. So, if he does kill aniki, what will he have after it? No one…except me…I'll be there to pick up the pieces. I just hope nothing happens to me in the process. Sasuke needs someone. Sasuke needs me._

"Naruto! Come on, let's go outside to train!" Sasuke shouted angrily. Naruto shut his journal and shoved it underneath the floor board once again.

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><p>"S…Sasuke. Stop, you're hurting me." Naruto said as he winced. Sasuke currently had an extremely tight grip on his wrist, something he did a lot. And it <em>hurt<em>. It felt as though Sasuke was going to break it if he didn't let go. Naruto didn't want any broken bones. Broken bones meant he'd have to go to the hospital, which meant he'd have to explain what happened. Sure, he could say he was training, but the bruises he got on his wrists from Sasuke gripping to too tightly looked too much like fingers. The doctors would know what happened, and Naruto didn't want to deal with what would happen after.

"You want to pass the test? Do you want to be on the same team as I am? Then you better toughen up Naruto, or you'll never graduate. " Sasuke said.

"Sasuke! I'll pass! I really will! I promise." Naruto said desperately.

"The final exam is in 20 minutes, and you still can't make a proper bunshin. Even people who are younger than you can do it. You're pathetic Naruto." Sasuke said as he gave Naruto's wrist one more tight squeeze before shoving him to the floor. Naruto brought his legs to his stomach, and brought his now bruised wrist to his chest in attempts to nurse it. By the time he looked up, Sasuke was gone.

"He's rather cruel to you isn't he?" A voice said from above him. He looked up to see a white-haired man. One of the many sensei of Konoha. While he wasn't Naruto's sensei (Iruka was) he still knew the man from the academy.

"H…he has his reasons. A lot of it is my fault anyway! I usually do something stupid to provoke him. Or I mess something up." Naruto said. He always defended Sasuke, and always made it seem like it wasn't Sasuke's fault for what he did to him, even though deep down inside, he knew he shouldn't, but he would never admit that. Not even to himself.

"Oh? Well, there's this special scroll in Konoha. If you learn one of the jutsu's you'll pass the exam for sure. Then Sasuke will be happy. That's what he wants, right? For you to pass?" The man smirked, setting up his plan, and hoping was gullible Naruto would fall for it.

"Really Mizuki-sensei? Where is it?" Naruto asked anxiously. Maybe now he'd be able to do something that Sasuke liked! Maybe Sasuke would finally be proud of him. Mizuki smirked even more. This was going to be easy.

"Very good Sasuke, just as I had expected. Sakura, you're up next!" Iruka called as he watched Sasuke go back to his seat. Today was the final exam, and whoever passed it would become a genin. But Naruto was no where in site.

While Iruka knew Naruto was a little young to become a Genin (most of the kids were 12 or 13 when then became one), he knew Naruto had the strength, and the potential. But he would get no where if he didn't show up. He looked up at Sasuke, who seemed to be searching for the boy as well. He looked extremely mad though, as opposed to worried like Iruka was.

"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked, breaking Iruka's attention from thinking about Naruto, and pulling it over to herself.

"Very good Sakura, You can sit down now." Iruka sighed. That was it, Naruto wasn't here, so he had no choice but to fail him.

"Okay class, you may go on your break now. Meet back here in fifteen minutes to see whether you passed or not." Iruka announce, and the class quickly piled out of the classroom.

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><p><strong>Sasuke POV<strong>

"Very good Sasuke. Sakura, you're up next!" Iruka called the annoying girl as I walked back to my seat. Today was our final exam, whoever passed it would become a genin, and whoever didn't, would go back to the academy. I won't allow Naruto to go back to the academy, because that would definitely mean that Naruto and I wouldn't be on the same team. Naruto would be a year behind me. I worked Naruto hard enough for this day, and I would make sure he would pass. But Naruto was no where in site. My 'little brother' didn't come to class. So, that meant he wasn't going to pass. No show, no passing.

As Sakura sat down, she glanced at me quickly but I pretended not to notice. She was just another stupid girl who claimed to love me. It was always 'Sasuke-kun this' and 'Sasuke-kun that'. Stupid foolish girl. What an annoyance. She was just like the rest of them.

Let me tell you something. Every girl in my class, as well as some new genins, and some younger ones claim to like me. No, scratch that, they say that they love me. But they don't even know me. They know that I get good grades, and they know I'm strong, and they think I'm good looking. But they don't really know me. The only one who really truly knows me is that moron Naruto. Stupid dobe…he never does anything right…But I can care less what he thinks about me. Once I get my revenge on Itachi, I'll get rid of him. He's nothing but a tool used for my revenge.

"Okay class, you may go on your break now. Meet back here in fifteen minutes to see whether you passed or not." Iruka-sensei announced, and my classmates began to leave the room. They were all talking in whispers, saying that they hope they pass.

I glanced at Iruka quickly before leaving the room. He looked a bit troubled, and during our exams, he kept looking for someone. Hmm, I know he seemed to take a bit of a liking towards Naruto, so could he have been looking for Naruto? Most likely. Stupid sensei. Why would he like Naruto anyway? How could he like Naruto? I've done everything I could to keep Naruto away from others. But Naruto seems to like him as well…He often mentions how Iruka treats him to ramen. How he buys him things and takes him places. And Naruto always comes back happy at the end of the night. He always has a stupid smile of his face when he talks about Iruka…and he only uses that tone for Iruka. Because to Naruto…that stupid sensei is special.

Hn…I have no clue why Naruto even like's Iruka. There's nothing special about him.

As I left, I saw a jounin pass by me and run to Iruka. He whispered something in his ear and left, leaving Iruka with a shocked expression. He quickly packed up his stuff and ran out the door. Curious as to what had happened; I decided to follow him, only to find out that Naruto has stolen something. Some scroll of some sort. Ha! He really is an idiot.

Unknowingly, Iruka led me to the forest, to find Naruto sitting down, looking through the scroll. I stayed up high on one of the tree's, unseen by anyone. I wanted to know what was going on before I made myself known.

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><p><strong>Normal POV<strong>

"Hmm, Kage bushin no jutsu? That seems easy enough for me to learn." Naruto said out loud as he read through the page on the scroll. He was there for hours, practicing, before he had a visitor.

"Naruto? What are you doing?" Iruka yelled as he ran up to the boy. The Hokage had mentioned that Naruto had stolen the scroll, and was about to send some Jounin after him. But Iruka told Hokage that he would go. He would take care of it. He knew Naruto didn't steal it on his own. Despite the fact that Naruto was a troublemaker, he was still a good kid. He only caused trouble so he could get attention.

"Iruka-sensei! Oh, you came to soon. I was only able to learn one of the jutsu's from this scroll. Wanna see?" Naruto asked as he stood up, smiling. Iruka starred at the scroll, and then at him. He was actually able to learn something from the scroll in such a short amount of time?

"Naruto, why did you steal it?" Iruka asked. Naruto was acting…weird…as if he didn't know what he was really doing.

"Huh? What do you mean by steal Iruka-sensei? Mizuki-sensei said-" Naruto was cut off by a kunai hitting the ground between them. Both Iruka and Naruto jumped backwards and landed on their feet, starring up at the attacker.

"Mizuki! You're behind this!" Iruka yelled at the man. Mizuki was perched up on top of a tree, leaning up against part of the trunk, with a smirk of satisfaction on his face and a huge shuriken on his back.

"Naruto, don't listen to him. He hates you. He doesn't care about you at all. He's just going to lie to you so you'll give him the scroll." Mizuki said.

Naruto looked over to Iruka sadly. He thought Iruka had actually liked him. The sensei even treated him to ramen sometimes. Surely he wasn't faking it? And what was the purpose of faking it anyway? Everyone hated him. So it wasn't really surprising if Iruka hated him as well. He was used to it by now. He did live with Sasuke after all.

"No, no Naruto! It's not true!" Iruka said, and another kunai was thrown, this time it grazed Iruka's shoulder very slightly. It cut open his sleeve and cut his skin, causing a some blood to drip down.

"Listen to me Naruto, give me the scroll. Iruka just wants you to take his side, so you'd give him the scroll. But then, he'd turn on you. There's a bounty on your head, you know? Whoever gets the scroll back and brings you to the Hokage will get that bounty. That's what Iruka wants. Me? I just want to help you. Come on Naruto, give me the scroll." Mizuki said, coaxing Naruto closer to him. Naruto fell onto the ground, unsure of what to do. He looked over to Mizuki.

"No! Naruto! He's lying, don't listen to him." Iruka began, but Mizuki once again stopped him.

"Naruto, do you know the Kyuubi Kitsune that's sealed inside of you killed Iruka's parents. He hates you for killing his parents and ruining his life. He hates you as much as everyone else does.." Mizuki paused, smirking.

"As much as Sasuke does." Mizuki finished, and Naruto stood there in shock. It hurt. That one hurt a lot. In his shock, Mizuki grabbed the giant shuriken from behind his back, and threw it towards Naruto. Naruto saw it coming and looked down, waiting for the pain to come. He wouldn't be able to move in time.

Sasuke's eyes widened. He paid no attention to the fact that his name was mentioned. The only thing he heard was the fact that Naruto had the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed within him.

"Can that really be true?" Sasuke murmured as he turned his heel and left the sight. Not paying any attention to the one-sided fight between Naruto and Mizuki. The fight was the last thing on my mind. All that he could think about at that moment was the Kyuubi. It all made a bit more sense now. The reason the villagers hated Naruto so much. It wasn't because of the Uchiha massacre, but because of the Kyuubi.

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><p>Naruto braced himself for the hit, but it never did. He looked up, and to his amazement, Iruka had blocked it. Iruka was hunched over him, and the giant shuriken was now embedded in his back. Blood was spewing out of his back and onto the ground beneath them.<p>

"Naruto, you don't deserve this. You never did. I know how much it hurts. You had parents, and a family. The Uchiha's were you're family. But they were killed, and the villagers still hated you because of Kyuubi. I know how it feels to have lost your parents. And I don't blame you. I never did. Kyuubi is only sealed inside of you. Kyuubi is Kyuubi and you are Naruto. You're two completely separate beings. You shouldn't be blame for what the demon did eleven years ago." Iruka said, his voice shaking slightly.

Naruto's eyes widened. Iruka cared. Iruka really cared for him!

"Ha! That man's a joke!" Mizuki said and jumped near the two of them, holding out his hand. Naruto clenched his fist and stood up.

"Good, I knew you'd come to your senses." Mizuki said. He knew it would be easy to coax the demon.

Naruto shook his head and backed up, ready to fight.

"That's funny kid. You think you can harm me? I'll knock you out before you even knew what happened!" Mizuki yelled, ready to attack.

Naruto formed his hands, forming a jutsu that would soon become his favorite one.

"Kage bushin no jutsu!" He shouted, and 100 Naruto's appeared, causing Mizuki to panic. He had never seen thing jutsu done to this extreme before!

"Go ahead and try to attack me or Iruka-sensei! I'll hurt you 10 times more!" He shouted, and all the Naruto clones jumped towards their target. Within seconds, Mizuki was beaten to a bloody pulp by Naruto's kage bushin. The man didn't even stand a chance.

"I guess I was a little to harsh on him, but oh well! Too late now." Naruto laughed. The man deserved it anyway. He had hurt Iruka! Iruka had nothing to do with this situation.

"Naruto, come here, I have something for you." Iruka called to Naruto. Naruto looked at him, puzzled, but walked over to him none-the-less.

"Close your eyes." Iruka said, and Naruto did so, and felt something being tied around his forehead. He had a feeling about what it was, but couldn't be too sure.

"Okay Naruto. You can open your eyes now." And he did, only to find a forehead protector tied around his forehead.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" Naruto shouted in happiness as he jumped on the older man, who winced slightly from the pain. He didn't mind, though. Naruto was so happy. Naruto was happy now because Iruka had passed him. He was finally a genin, after long last.

'Sasuke is going to be so happy!' Naruto thought, smiling. Maybe he'd even be proud of him. That's all Naruto wanted. Was to make Sasuke happy and proud.

"Come on Naruto, I'll treat you to some ramen." Iruka said as the pair walked to Ichiraku ramen, not noticing a pair of pitch black eyes watching them.

* * *

><p>Sasuke kept walking until he reached Ichiraku ramen stand. His fists clenched as he saw Naruto laughing happily with Iruka. Their sensei had apparently brought Naruto there for a treat, after his wounds were treated in the hospital.<p>

"No…Naruto, you're not supposed to be happy…" Sasuke said whispered as he disappeared into the darkness. The pair failed to notice him as they kept laughing, at that moment not having a care in the world.

Sasuke walked slowly back to his house and unlocked the door. He placed his keys on the kitchen table and turned off the lights. When Naruto came home…he'd certainly hear it from Sasuke.

* * *

><p>"Bye Iruka-sensei! I'll see you tomorrow!" Naruto shouted as he waved goodbye to Iruka, then ran towards his house in happiness. As he approached his house, he suddenly had nervous, sickening feeling in his stomach. His heart was racing. He slowed his pace to a walk as he approached the door. Shaking, he grasped the doorknob and turned it slowly. He pushed it open, walked in, and closed the door behind him.<p>

His heart raced even faster as he flipped the light switch and brought light to the kitchen. He gasped as he saw Sasuke sitting on the kitchen table, head within his folded hands.

"He…hello Sasuke…" Naruto stuttered as he slowly walked over to Sasuke until he was right in front of him. Sasuke looked up at him.

"Naruto, where were you? Do you know that you failed now? You failed because you didn't even show up! What is wrong with you? Why are you so stupid?" Sasuke's voice rose slightly.

"No! Sasuke, I didn't fail, Iruka-sensei-"

"Baka! Iruka-sensei wouldn't pass you just for the hell of it! He doesn't like you. _No one_ likes you. _I_don't even like you!" Sasuke shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, making Naruto flinch.

"B…but Sasuke…he did pass me," Naruto paused as he pulled out his forehead protector.

"Look." Naruto smiled slightly as he held up his forehead protector for Sasuke to see.

"He did pass me Sasuke, because-"

_SLAP!_

Naruto never finished his sentence. Sasuke had slapped him hard on his right cheek. The shock of the blow caused Naruto to fall to the floor, and slide into a cabinet, hitting his head in the process.

"Don't you even know when to shut up dobe? You passed, so what do you want from me? Do you want me to congratulate you? Well little brother…I'm not going to do that. You're a dropout…a loser…an outcast, and a dobe. You don't deserve to be congratulated." Sasuke said as he knelt down to Naruto's level. Grabbing him by his collar, he pulled the boy closer . Naruto shut his eyes. It became a habit for him to close his eyes when Sasuke hit him. He found it was easier to keep his eyes closed. He hated looking into Sasuke's eyes as his older brother hit him. The expression of crazy lust was too much for Naruto to handle.

But no blow came. He opened his eyes. He gasped softly as Sasuke gently rubbed his bruised cheek. Sasuke was never this…nice to him.

"Dobe, I'll see you in the morning. You better just hope we're on the same team." And with that, Sasuke dropped Naruto and left for his room.

Naruto blinked as he brought his hand up to his cheek. Sasuke had such hate in his eyes when he talked about Iruka…

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized something…

Was Sasuke…

…Jealous?


	4. Annoying

_I don't really know if Sasuke is jealous or not…Maybe I'm going too far into it. Maybe I'm over exaggerating. I mean, why would he be jealous of Iruka-sensei any way? Why would Sasuke be jealous of anyone at all? I don't get Sasuke sometimes…But what else am I supposed to do? I just go along with everything he tells me. Because, he said if I do whatever he says, he won't leave me. I don't want him to leave me, because I do love him, and I know he needs me, even if he won't admit it to himself._

_Today I'm going to the academy to meet with everyone else who passed the exam. And we're going to see which team we're on! I'm actually a little nervous. There's also this girl Haruno Sakura that I'm kind of interested in. She's pretty. Maybe we'll be on the same team? I wonder if I'll be on Sasuke's team. I know he wants me to be…but deep down inside…Do I really want to be on the same team as him? That's what he wants. If it doesn't happen, I don't even know how he'd react. He really…_

Naruto heard familiar footsteps coming towards his room, slammed his journal shut and hid it within his usual hiding spot. Naruto was quite lucky that Sasuke never really came in his room and looked around, or else he'd tear the journal to shreds, and burn it. He'd also get rid of the necklace Naruto treasured for so long.

"Naruto! Where are you?" Sasuke called out as he entered the younger boys' room.

'Where else would I be Sasuke? I 'm usually always in my room.' Naruto thought to himself. Naruto was sitting on his bed, slipping on his sandals. When he saw Sasuke walk in, he got to his feet and smiled at the older boy.

"Yes Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he walked up to him. Sasuke looked at him in silence for a moment before responding.

"N...Naruto…" He began, and Naruto looked at him, puzzled. Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something, but he was fighting inside himself whether or not to say it.

"Yeah Sasuke?" Naruto asked, when he realized Sasuke wasn't saying anything else.

"Nothing! Forget it, hurry up or you're going to make us both late!" Sasuke said as he quickly left the room. Naruto cocked an eyebrow, and then shrugged off the weird feeling he had. He slipped on his left sandal, and ran quickly after Sasuke.

Upon reaching the Academy, Sasuke took a seat, and almost right away, girls went crazy over him. Naruto shook his head and took a seat next to Sasuke. He was used to being ignored, and Sasuke getting all the attention. So it was nothing new to him. Naruto sat next to him. He looked around the room, seeing all the students that had passed the exam and were now ninja's. It looked like everyone had passed.

"Oi, Naruto. So you did pass eh? But you didn't show up for the day of the exam. We were all wondering about you. How did you manage to pass? Did you go afterward? Ah, that's so troublesome, why would you do that? Wouldn't it be easier to wait until next year?" Nara Shikamaru, a fellow rookie who also passed the exam asked. The boy was also in his class in the Academy.

"Oh! You see…" Naruto began to explain, but a sudden feminine voice interrupted them.

"Out of my way!" A pink haired girl pushed Shikamaru away, whom, in return whispered the words 'how troublesome' under his breath, and walked away.

'Does…does she want to sit next to me?' Naruto asked himself. This girl was known as Haruno Sakura. She was quite popular and very pretty. Naruto wasn't sure if it was a crush or not, but he knew that he wanted to be on the same team as her.

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto said happily, hoping to get her attention.

"Move your ass Naruto! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun, not you! Out of the way! Move it, move it!" She yelled as she pushed Naruto out of the way, and sat down next to Sasuke.

Naruto sighed sadly, took a seat next to Sakura and looked over to Sasuke. Every single girl in the room was starring at him, but Sasuke either didn't take notice to any of them, or just didn't care. Naruto went with the fact that Sasuke didn't care. The only person Sasuke ever paid attention to was Naruto, although 98 percent of that attention was negative…it was still a lot of attention coming from Sasuke, because Sasuke paid attention to no one, with the exception of his senseis'.

At this point, Sakura was sitting back in the seat, so Naruto could see Sasuke clearly. Ino took the opportunity to glomp Sasuke from his left. And for once, Sasuke was caught by surprise. In response, he ripped himself from Ino's hug, lost his balance and landed completely on Naruto, lips included.

Naruto's eyes widened when he felt something warm against his lips. Before he could even realize what had happened, he was pummeled by at least 8 of the girls in the room. Once the girls were done, Naruto wiped his lips off and looked at his hands. He was shaking and his heart was pounding.

'Wh…what's wrong with me? It was just a stupid accident. That wasn't a real kiss…right?' Naruto thought to himself as he tried to calm down. He looked over to Sasuke who had a scowl on his face. He looked fairly mad at the situation, but not as mad as Naruto thought he would have been.

"Okay everyone, congratulations! You're all officially genin! And, because of that, you're put into a three person team, with a jounin as your sensei. Together, the four of you will be doing missions, and training. Your sensei will help you become stronger, and teach you how to be part of a team." Iruka explained.

'3? That's only going to get in the way. I thought it'd just be 2.' Sasuke thought as he looked over to Naruto. From what he knew, the teams were balanced out by someone with high grades, someone with low grades, and someone who was 'mediocre' or, in the middle of the two. He was the highest in the class, and Naruto was the lowest.

'Naruto will definitely get paired up with me since it goes by grades. But what about the third person? I'm sure it will be a girl then.'

'I hope it's not her.' Sasuke thought, referring to Sakura. She was probably the most annoying an pushy girl in the class. She was loud and annoying and obnoxious. It would be close to torture being put on the same team as her.

'I hope I get paired with Sakura-chan!' Naruto thought.

Iruka began to announce names. As the names were called, the ninja's left the room.

"Okay, now, team 7. Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura-"

"YES!" Sakura yelled out. Excited that she was going to be on the same team as Sasuke. It was every girls dream to be paired up with Sasuke. And she was paired with him, out of all the girls.

"-and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Yes!" Naruto yelled out.

"Oh great…" Sakura said sarcastically as she slumped down. 

'Good. We're paired up. I can deal with Sakura. As long as Naruto is on my team. That's all that matters.' Sasuke thought to himself as he stood up and left the room.

-

"Oi, oi! Sakura-chan, want to have lunch with me?" Naruto asked as he ran to the young pink-haired girl, with high hopes that she would say yes.

"No way! Get away Naruto! I'm going to have lunch with Sasuke-kun. I brought an extra mochi for him (1)." Sakura said.

"Oh. Well Sasuke doesn't like sweets Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he walked away sadly.

"How does he…know that? How well does this kid even know Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked herself, puzzled as to why Naruto knew something like that about Sasuke.

"Hmm, I can use henge no jutsu and turn into him. Then I can get Sakura's attention for a little while! But no…I can't do that to Sasuke." Naruto paused as he gazed over to Sasuke. Sasuke was currently standing inside a room, eating an onigiri. He seemed to be looking for someone, his dark eyes scanning the nearby area.

"Hmm, it won't hurt right?" Naruto said as he transformed into Sasuke. He had only a few minutes before Sasuke was done, and began looking for him.

"Sasuke-kun! There you are. I've been looking all over for you!" Sakura said as she approached Naruto, who, in return smiled at her.

"Hello Sakura. Let's go sit down." Naruto said as he led the older ninja towards a bench. Naruto's heart was pounding. He wanted to be near Sakura so badly. But he felt so bad that he was doing this to Sakura.

"Sakura. What do you think of Naruto?" Naruto asked, and Sakura seemed annoyed.

"He's so annoying! He always gets in the way of things. I think he likes to see me suffer. He knows nothing of me…but he claims to like me so much. Sasuke-kun, all I want is for you to acknowledge me." She said as she leaned in close to Naruto, and puckered her lips. Naruto blushed and pulled away. He couldn't do this to Sasuke, and he couldn't lead Sakura on like that. It was cruel.

"S…Sakura, I'll be right back!" Naruto said as he got up and ran away as fast as he could.

"He's so shy! It's cute. Who would have thought Uchiha Sasuke was shy when it comes to girls? Maybe that's why he's never approached any girls or reciprocated what they've done for him!" Sakura smiled to herself. She had finally won Sasuke over! Ino was going to be so jealous.

"Sakura." Sasuke said sternly. Maybe Sakura would know where Naruto was.

"Oh! Sasuke-kun! There you are!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes. Let's go meet our sensei…Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He was sure he saw Naruto a few minutes ago.

"Sasuke-kun! Stop changing the subject! Who cares about him anyway? He's so annoying. The moron has no parents, so he could do whatever he wants to! He causes trouble, but he has no parents to scold him for it. He's actually pretty lucky." Sakura rambled on.

Sasuke clenched his fists, and…

SLAP!

Sakura's eyes widened as she slowly brought he hand up to her cheek. It was throbbing. Sasuke slapped her. He actually slapped her! She wasn't expecting that!

"Don't you _ever_ talk about him that way again. You think he's lucky to have no parents to scold him? You have no clue how much he suffers. And stop playing the whole love sick school girl with me. You don't know me either. Sakura, you're annoying. Stay away from me outside of anything that doesn't have to do with team 7." Sasuke said as he walked off.

Sakura frowned. That had hurt a lot. Not just physically, but it hurt her heart too. Sasuke looked so angry when she talked about Naruto in a bad way. She felt so bad now.

"Is that how Naruto feels? Does he really suffer? If so…maybe I can be a little nicer to him next time."

(1) Mochi is a Japanese rice bean cake. It's really good, but sweet. And Sasuke doesn't like sweets.


	5. Kakashi

"Hmmm, Uzumaki Naruto eh? And Uchiha Sasuke on the same team. Something tells me that Sasuke planned this. He probably wanted the poor blond on the team so he's able keep an eye on him. And make sure Naruto won't make friends. But Naruto is still too innocent and nice, he's so happy and stays so positive, and so friendly. I'm sure he'll easily make friends, even with Sasuke pushing them away. That Uchiha. He can get quite jealous." A man with gray hair said. He was talking to Iruka-sensei.

"What are you talking about? Why would he want to keep an eye on him?" Iruka asked, completely confused. There were things going on with his students that he didn't know about, and he didn't like it.

"Naruto was adopted by Sasuke's parents when he was 3. Now that they're dead, he still lives with Sasuke. Not many people know though. And the way Sasuke treats him? Well…let's just say it's not the nicest thing in the world." Kakashi responded.

"What?" Iruka exclaimed. He had been Naruto and Sasuke's sensei for years and didn't know that! Why was he not told?

"Yes, haven't you noticed they were always together? And that Sasuke was always a bit mean to him?" Kakashi asked.

"Well I've noticed they were always together...but nothing more. Naruto is always cheery towards Sasuke. Sasuke was always a little...anti-social, and doesn't talk much. I've never seen him do anything to Naruto though!" Iruka explained. Now that he thought about it, the two boy really were always together. They arrived together and left together. But Sasuke was never really cruel to the blond.

"Well he doesn't do anything in public. He has a good way of hiding things."

"Wha..what can I do about this? I have to help him!" Iruka said, suddenly feeling very protective over the young blond boy.

"No Iruka, it isn't your place anymore. He isn't your student anymore. He'd my student now and therefore my responsibility." Iruka got angry at this. Sure, Kakashi was right, Naruto wasn't his student anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't care! He cared for the blond deeply. He just wanted to help him!

"Kakashi-sensei I don't care if he isn't my student anymore. I still want him to be taken care of!" Iruka yelled back.

"Don't worry Iruka. I'll keep an eye on him."

* * *

><p>Sasuke was enraged. He hadn't seen Naruto since Iruka announced that they were teammates. He was waiting for Naruto so they could have lunch together, but Naruto never showed up. Sasuke had eaten without him. Afterward he decided to look for Naruto. He had wanted to talk to Naruto about the 'little incident' that happened in the classroom. Sasuke wasn't too happy about that.<p>

He was currently standing near a burnt down building, searching for Naruto.

"Naruto, where are you?" Sasuke called out as he searched for the blue-eyed blonde.

"I'm right here Sasuke!" Naruto said as he approached the older genin. Naruto smiled at the boy and sat down on the burnt steps.

"Where were you at lunch?" Sasuke asked, pissed. Sasuke was used to Naruto obeying him, so to Naruto, it was understandable as to why Sasuke was angry.

"Eh? Oh! I was trying to get Sakura-chan to eat lunch with me, but she said no. Heh, she really likes you Sasuke! You should ask her out or something," Naruto paused, and yelled out as Sasuke grabbed him.

"ITAI! No, let go, please let go!" Naruto pleaded as Sasuke gripped his wrist, and began twisting it harshly, almost to the point of breaking it.

"Why the hell would I ask her out? She's just an annoyance, another stupid obstacle in the way of my revenge." Sasuke began, and twisted Naruto's wrist even further as said boy tried to get away.

"AND YOU! Who gave you the right to go to her for lunch? I told you to come to me for lunch!" Sasuke shouted, angrily.

"N…no you didn't! You didn't say anything to me Sasuke! You never say anything to me, and then you get mad if I don't do something!" Naruto snapped back defensively, which was something he rarely did. But he felt somewhat brave today.

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke shouted as he slapped the younger genin.

"And you know what else? What were you trying to pull in there?" Sasuke questioned, slamming Naruto against the wall. A few pieces of the building fell to the floor, crumbling into many little pieces. One of the pieces flew up towards Naruto and cut his cheek, within seconds, blood slid down his cheek.

"What do you mean Sasuke?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"I mean that stupid kiss."

"Sasuke, it was an accident I swear! I was pushed into you! I wouldn't kiss you! Why would I kiss you?" Naruto answered, defending himself and suddenly feeling very nervous.

"Oh yeah? Now you brought even more attention to yourself! I don't need that Naruto." Sasuke said as he slowly let go of Naruto, and placed his hands on both sides of Naruto's head.

"Sasuke, what-" Naruto began.

"San." Sasuke said.

"Wha…what do you mean san?" Naruto asked.

"San." Sasuke repeated. "I want you to call me Sasuke-san from now on." Sasuke said seriously, watching as the blood slowly dripped down the blond's cheek onto the floor.

"Okay…Sasuke…san…" Naruto didn't question him further.

"That aside, that stupid kiss, that wasn't even my real first kiss Naruto. So don't get all egotistical thinking you took it from me, because it's going to be the other way around. I'm going to take everything from you. And do you know why Naruto?" Sasuke paused, waiting to see if Naruto would answer him or not. Naruto still stood there, confused.

"It's because you belong to me." He whispered into Naruto's ear, and slowly pulled back.

"Huh? What are you talking about Sasuke-san?" Naruto asked, still very confused.

"Shut up dobe. You'll see what I mean eventually. You can't be that stupid. But dobe…if you wanted a kiss, you should have just asked me for one." Sasuke leaned in closer. Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and he did something he had never done before.

He pushed Sasuke away.

It wasn't even a harsh push, it was gentle shove that could have even been considered playful, because Naruto didn't want to go too far, or Sasuke would hit him again, and because he had never push Sasuke away before.

Sasuke didn't make a sound or a facial _expression as he fell backwards onto the floor. Normally, he wouldn't have fallen, but he had let his guard down. It was something he always did with Naruto, and only with Naruto, because he knew Naruto would never do anything wrong. Naruto NEVER pushed him away. Not mentally or physically, so even something as small as a gentle push was a shock to him.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled, enraged.

And Naruto ran.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Naruto, where are you running off to? Why don't we walk to the classroom together? We're meeting our sensei now, remember?" Sakura asked as she saw Naruto running passed her. Naruto stopped running, and turned to face her.<p>

"Oh, okay Sakura-chan! Come on!" He said happily. If he was with Sakura-chan, Sasuke wouldn't hurt him. Sasuke never showed any abuse towards the blond when other people were around.

"Where's Sasuke-kun?" Naruto winced hearing the older boy's name.

"H…he'll meet us there Sakura-chan." Naruto said nervously, and the two walked the short distance to the classroom they were meeting their sensei in.

Naruto would be safe with Sakura-chan and their new sensei, but what would happen when he and Sasuke went home? What would Sasuke do then?

"Naruto! Don't do that! You're going to get us all in trouble. Sasuke-kun and I aren't even doing anything!" Sakura said as she watched Naruto put a chalk eraser above the door. He was trying to prank their new sensei.

"But Sakura-chan," Naruto whined, "Everyone else left with their new sensei's. We're the only ones left. What kind of sensei is almost 2 hours late anyway? He can't be that professional then, can he? And plus, I'm bored! Hey! Look, he's coming." Naruto said as he hopped off the chair and backed up, waiting for the man to enter.

"Like a jounin would actually fall for that…" Sasuke said murmured as the door was opened, and the eraser fell on top of the man's head.

"AHAHAHA! You fell for it! You actually fell for it! What kind of jounin are you? You sure you can even train us?" Naruto laughed, pointing at the man.

"YES!" Inner Sakura screamed, enjoying the prank. She looked over to Naruto and smiled. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad after all.

'…He must not be that great if he fell for such a juvenile prank.' Sasuke thought sadly. How was a man like this supposed to teach them?

"I…I'm sorry sensei! I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me!" Sakura said innocently. Sasuke rolled his eyes. If Sakura really wanted to stop him, she could have. She was just trying to be a suck-up to him. Great. A teachers pet.

The man stood there. He had spiky gray hair, and he wore a mask that covered his mouth and nose. The forehead protector that he wore covered his left eye. So basically, all you really saw was his right eye and a little bit of the skin there.

"Hmm... How should I say this? My first impression is…Well, you guys are a group of brats, who I really don't like." Kakashi said honestly.

"EH!" Naruto and Sakura gasped together. What kind of teacher said that to their students?

* * *

><p>"So, why don't you tell me about yourselves, so we can get to know one another a little bit. As in your name, likes, dislikes, dreams, and so forth." The man said. He still didn't even give them his name.<p>

"Ano sa, ano sa, why don't you introduce yourself first! We don't even know your name sensei." Naruto said.

"Me? Okay. My name is Hatake Kakashi, I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes or dislikes, or what my hobbies are."

"His name…that's all we found out. Jeez, he's boring isn't he? " Sakura told Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto smiled and nodded at her while Sasuke ignored them all.

"Okay, you're turn. You go first." Kakashi said, referring to Naruto.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Well, I like Sasuke-san," Sasuke flinched at this, and shook his head. Sakura raised her eyebrows slightly, wondering what exactly Naruto meant by that.

"-and I love ramen, I especially like the kind at Ichiraku Ramen. Iruka-sensei takes me there sometimes. I like Iruka-sensei too! He's nice to me. I also like training with Sasuke-san! And my dream is to become Hokage and have people in this village acknowledge me! I want to be an even stronger Hokage than Yondaime was!" Naruto exclaimed proudly.

'So this is the Kyuubi kid eh? And the one adopted by the Uchiha family?' Kakashi thought, quickly looking over to where Sasuke was sitting. Sasuke was glaring at Naruto, probably steamed at the comment Naruto had made just moments ago about him liking Sasuke.

'Hm, he grew up in an interesting way, considering everything he's been through. I think he suffered most from the massacre, considering how Sasuke treats him. Poor kid only wants to help Sasuke, and Sasuke treats him like crap.'

"Okay, next!" Kakashi looked at Sakura.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, what I like is…ah…I mean, the person I like…" She was blushing and getting flustered, starring back and forth from Sasuke to Kakashi-sensei.

"My hobbies are...well my dream is to one have Sasuke notice me!." She explained, looking over at the raven who took no interest and wasn't even paying attention to her.

"And…what do you dislike?" Kakashi asked, getting a little annoyed and bored at Sakura's obvious affections towards Sasuke.

"Dislike? Loud, obnoxious people!" She looked over to Naruto, implying that she was talking about him

"EH!" Naruto squeaked.

'Girls of her age are more interested in boys then ninjutsu.' Kakashi thought and sighed, shaking his head.

"And the last one, go on." He nodded towards Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't really like anything. And…I don't want to use the word 'dream' but I have an ambition, the resurrection of my clan, and to kill a certain man." Sasuke said.

Naruto was suddenly saddened by this.

"He's talking about Itachi…" Naruto mumbled sadly.

"What was that Naruto?" Sakura asked, swearing she heard the blond say something.

"Ah! Nothing Sakura-chan!" Naruto said quickly. He had to be more careful with what he said. He didn't want Sasuke to be mad at him.

"Eh, I guess you guys are somewhat interesting. Tomorrow we start our training." Kakashi stated.

"What kind of training?" Sakura asked.

"Survival training." Kakashi responded.

"Eh? How boring…we did enough of that in the Academy…" At this Kakashi started to laugh awkwardly.

"What's so funny sensei?"

"Well, out of the 27 people who graduated, only 9 will become genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy and will have to wait another year before taking the final exam again."

"WHAT?" Sakura and Naruto shouted.

"So meet here at 5 A.M., and make sure you bring all of your ninja gear. Oh, and don't eat anything." Kakashi said.

"Eh? Why not?" Naruto asked.

"Because you'll throw up. Ja!" The last bit was said cheerfully as Kakashi suddenly poofed away.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked over at Naruto, who was chatting with Sakura. They were talking about how they had to pass, because it would be humiliating to get back to the academy again.

"Humiliation is the last thing you'd have to worry about if you get sent back, Naruto." Sasuke said to himself.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi-sensei, if Sasuke treats Naruto so badly, can't we do something about it? I mean, can't we take him away from Sasuke and put him in someone's care?" Iruka asked. He wanted to help Naruto so badly. He'd gladly take Naruto under his care. He'd take care of him and make him happy.<p>

"Well, yes. That can be done. The Hokage tried it when Itachi first killed the Uchiha clan, and he also tried to again about a year ago." Kakashi said, and Iruka gasped in surprise.

"Then, what's wrong? Why is Naruto still there with him? Why didn't the Hokage take him away from Sasuke?" Iruka questioned. If Hokage had tried to take Naruto away from Sasuke, then why was Naruto still with Sasuke? Why wasn't Naruto living far away from that boy? And why was Naruto on the same team? Wasn't that dangerous? Iruka had so many questions that were unanswered.

"Iruka," Kakashi paused. He was unsure if Iruka would believe him or not, but he had to tell his fellow teacher either way. If he didn't, Iruka would unknowingly make things a lot harder for Naruto.

"Naruto doesn't want to _leave _Sasuke."

* * *

><p>You all seemed happy that Sasuke slapped Sakura in the last chapter! I find that funny. Haha, Sakura will get less annoying as this story progresses though.<p>

I've also posted a prequel to this. It's called 'I'm Not so Lonely Anymore'.

Also, please review! It takes only a few seconds for you to tell me how you like this story.


	6. Bells

"Naruto where do you think you're going? Do you think I'm just going to let you waltz right into your room? Do you think you can just pretend nothing happened today? You think I would just forget that you shoved me? No Naruto, you're wrong, very wrong." Sasuke growled, causing Naruto to stop on the first step. Naruto had hoped to just head into his room and go to sleep. He had been hoping Sasuke would forget everything, but alas, life wasn't that easy, especially if your name happened to be Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto looked down at the ground, his bangs covering his eyes, wanting to hide his face from Sasuke.

"Get over here Naruto." Sasuke ordered with venom in his voice. Naruto's hand gripped the railing tighter as his whole body began to shake. He knew it hadn't been a good idea to push Sasuke away earlier, and now he was going to pay for it.

With a small and almost silent sigh (If Sasuke heard him sigh, he'd be even more pissed then he already was, and Naruto did _not _want that), Naruto stepped off the step he was on and walked over to Sasuke as slowly as he could, trying to stall his punishment. He stopped when he was directly in front of the older boy, keeping his head downcast, avoiding Sasuke's coal-colored eyes. It was obvious that Sasuke was enraged by this, because he took Naruto by his hair and forced him to look into his eyes angry onyx eyes, their faces only inches apart.

"Naruto, look at me when I'm talking to you!" He yelled out in annoyance. He hated when Naruto didn't listen to him. Naruto whimpered slightly as the hold on his hair tightened. He reached up and touched Sasuke's hand with his own. It was a silent plead to let go, but it went unheard by the youngest Uchiha.

"No, I'm not letting you go until you learn your lesson!" Sasuke shouted, and pushed Naruto up against the railing, hard, causing it to creak under the pressure of a body hitting it.

"Sasuke-san," Naruto paused, he missed calling him Sasuke-chan…It has been so long since he was allowed to call him that. So long but it felt like only yesterday that they were playing in the backyard together.

"I'm sorry… Just let me go! I'm sorry okay? I won't do it again! I won't shove you Sasuke, I promise! I don't even know what came over me. Just let me go, please?" Naruto pleaded. He hated when Sasuke was angry at him, which happened more often than it didn't.

"Oh, so you're sorry? Let's see how sorry you are…" Sasuke said as he leaned in closer to Naruto's face. Naruto's eyes widened, he knew what Sasuke was going to do now. And he wasn't going to push him away this time, because he knew the punishment would be much worse if he did.

Sasuke leaned in, and Naruto felt the older boy's lips upon his own. It was gentle at first, but then turned into a harsh bite. Naruto gasped and pulled back slightly, blood leaked out of the bite wound. Sasuke pulled him closer, placing his lips upon Naruto's again. He licked the blood on Naruto's bottom lip until the small wound stopped bleeding. He nibbled on the bottom lip, trying to get Naruto to open his mouth, but the blonde boy kept his mouth shut, too young to even know what was going on. Sasuke pulled back, irritated.

"Damn it Naruto." He hissed as he pulled his hand back and slapped Naruto, hard, causing the boy to fall to the floor.

"Sasuke-san, what did I do?" Naruto asked as he covered his face. Sasuke began to kick him. He kicked his leg, and Naruto knew that was going to bruise. He sent a kick to his face, but luckily Naruto's hands was covering his face..

"You're such an annoyance! I have no clue why I even let you stay here!" Sasuke shouted as he kicked Naruto hard in the stomach. Naruto removed his hands from his face, and clenched his stomach. He began cough up a little blood. Sasuke stopped, eyes widening a little at the sight of blood coming out of Naruto's mouth.

"Tch, go clean yourself up moron." Sasuke said as he shook his head at the sight of the younger boy bleeding. He turned heel and walked up the stairs. Seconds later, Naruto heard Sasuke's door slam shut.

Oh yeah, Sasuke was mad.

…_Really _mad.

* * *

><p>"Wha…what do you mean he doesn't want to leave? He's being abused! Why wouldn't he want to leave? Why does he even let Sasuke do that to him? He's stronger than that. He could fight Sasuke off if he really wanted to." Iruka asked, shocked.<p>

"It's complicated Iruka. Naruto really loves Sasuke, more than anything else. And he would never leave him, no matter what happened. Apparently, his…" Kakashi paused, changing his wording to fit the situation better. "…their mother had a lot to do with it. She taught Naruto never to leave the one's you love, and to protect them with everything you've got. No matter what." Kakashi said sadly. He knew all too well what it was like to lose the ones you love.

"So it's all _her _fault!" Iruka accused.

"No, Mikoto was a remarkable woman, and those two loved her very much, especially Naruto. She taught Naruto how to be loved and love in return. You shouldn't blame her Iruka-sensei. She didn't know that this was going to be the outcome. She didn't know that Itachi was going to kill everyone. And she would never have thought that Sasuke would become abusive towards Naruto." Kakashi said, defending the Uchiha mother. He had met Mikoto a few times before, and she was a very kind woman. He could see why the boys loved her so much.

"Yes…I suppose you're right. But isn't there something, _anything_we can do?" Iruka asked. He loved Naruto like a son, and he wanted to help him in any way possible.

"I'm afraid not Iruka. All you can do is to continue to care for him, because he needs love more then anything else right now." Kakashi responded.

* * *

><p><em>I can't believe he actually kissed me like that. I don't know <em>why_ he would want to kiss me like that. He hates me doesn't he? So it doesn't make sense at all. But I guess, it was…kind of nice. But he hurt me afterward, and now my stomach hurts a lot. I hope I'll be okay for the survival training tomorrow.  
><em>_  
>~Naruto<em>

Naruto sighed as he hid his journal away in the normal hiding spot. He took the necklace out and put it around his neck, hiding it under his pajamas. He'd wear it tomorrow for good luck, because he needed luck. If he was sent back to the Academy, he'd never hear the end of it.

* * *

><p>Kakashi laid a bouquet of flowers gently on a grave. The engraved name read 'Uchiha Obito'.<p>

"I have a team now Obito, and I think they'll be the first one's I'll actually pass. One of them is your little cousin Sasuke. He's a bit cruel towards Naruto because of Itachi. The other is a girl, named Haruno Sakura. She's a lot like Rin in some ways. And the last one is Uzumaki Naruto. He's the kid who has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him. He's so much like you Obito. If you could only see."

* * *

><p>"Naruto, wake up! You better not make us late." A voice shouted. A harsh shove pulled Naruto from his comfortable sleep. He sat up and winced at the pain in his stomach. Why did it still hurt so much? Usually, the pain would be dulled down the next day.<p>

'Hmm, Sasuke was probably too rough last night. Naruto thought.

"I'm up Sasuke! What time is it?" Naruto asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"4:30, hurry up and get dressed." Sasuke ordered as he left the room.

Naruto sighed. It was the same thing every time Sasuke hurt him. He would come in the next day and act normal (well, normal for Sasuke standards). He would act as if he didn't hit Naruto. But today was different; Sasuke mentioned nothing about the kiss. And Naruto was slightly relieved about that.

About 15 minutes later, two boys could be seen leaving their house, and going to meet their sensei. Sakura, their third teammate was already there, looking as tired as Naruto did.

"Good morning." Sakura greeted lazily, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Good morning Sakura-chan." Naruto replied, tired. Sasuke didn't even bother with any sort of greeting.

Team seven waited a few minutes. 5 AM came and went, and Kakashi-sensei was no where to be found. So they waited some more, 6AM, 7AM, 8AM, and at 9 AM Kakashi finally showed up.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto shouted, pointing at the older man.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! A black cat crossed my path so…" Kakashi began, but team seven didn't believe him.

"LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura said together. Sasuke just shook his head at their stupidity, and at their sensei's lack of…hmm, what was he lacking exactly? Sasuke couldn't quite put his finger on it. But this man was certainly weird.

"Well, let's move on." Kakashi said. He walked over to a tree stump, and set an alarm on the clock that was sitting there. "It's set for twelve o'clock." Kakashi told them as he took out two small silver bells from his pocket; they dangled in his hands and made noise.

"The task is for you to get one of these bells from me. And whoever doesn't, will get no lunch!" Kakashi said.

Sakura and Naruto groaned at this.

'So that's why he told us not to eat breakfast.' Sasuke thought to himself.

"But Kakashi-sensei, there are only two bells, and there are three of us here." Sakura said, questionable of her sensei's teaching aspects. This man was really weird. Maybe he wasn't really a jounin. Maybe he was just pretending to. But wasn't that a serious offense?

"Yes, whoever doesn't get the remaining bell, will be sent back to the academy. But we'll figure that out soon enough, won't we? Let's see if you three can even make it until noon." Kakashi stated with a smile. Well, what they thought was a smile, because Kakashi had a mask on. But they could hear the smirk in his voice.

Naruto gasped. He just had to get one of those bells! He couldn't go back to the Academy.

He looked over to Sakura.

'If Sasuke and I get the bells, then Sakura-chan will have to go back...I don't know if I can do that to her...but...I can't disappoint Sasuke either. Why would he only bring two? We're a team and we're supposed to work together...so why would he want to send only one of us back?' Naruto pondered.

"Okay, start!"

* * *

><p>Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto split up in three separate ways, quickly dashing away from the teacher. They hid within the forest, hoping to catch him in surprise when they reappeared. But to their shock, he wasn't even searching for them. In fact, he was reading some sort of orange book titled 'Icha Icha Paradise'.<p>

Seeing that he was preoccupied, Sasuke took the opportunity to jump out and attack him. He aimed a kick at his new sensei, but Kakashi grabbed his foot and flipped him onto the ground, straddling his back.

'Shit! He's better than I thought. He really is a jounin.' Sasuke thought as he tried his hardest to get out of his sensei's grasp.

"Sakura-chan, I'm going to help Sasuke-san. Wait until after I get to where Kakashi-sensei is, and then come out. I'll distract him and you can come up behind in a sneak attack." Naruto whispered.

"Naruto are you crazy? We can't take him on! We can't risk that! If Sasuke-kun couldn't do it, what makes you think we can?" Sakura responded to the younger ninja.

"What else can we do? You want to help Sasuke-san don't you? If we work together, maybe we can help him!" Naruto said, and came out of his hiding spot to 'save' his teammate.

"Sasuke-san? He wasn't calling him that yesterday. I wonder what happened.' Sakura thought to herself.

'Oh? What's this? Could it be they know the secret behind this? Hmm, maybe I will pass them afterall. Maybe they aren't as dumb as they look.' Kakashi thought as Naruto approached him, and Sakura came out from hiding.

"If you want to attack me, you'll have to let Sasuke-san go!" Naruto yelled out as he charged at Kakashi, who in turn, performed a seal.

"WHAT! He's going to use ninjutsu on Naruto! No! I can't let him do that." Sakura yelled out as she charged for Kakashi.

"Damn it Usuratonkachi! Turn around! You're going to get hurt…And I'm not going to take care of you!" Sasuke shouted. The last thing he needed was for Naruto to be injured.

"Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu no Ôgi: Sennen Goroshi (Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu supreme technique: One thousand years of pain)!" Kakashi yelled out, poking Naruto hard in the ass, causing the boy to go flying, screaming in slight pain and a large dose of embarrassment.

"What? Wait a minute, that's not a jutsu…" Sakura paused in her running, blushing in embarrassment. Was this man really going to be their teacher? What kind of person did that to their student?

Sasuke was speechless, and angry. He didn't like where Kakashi had touched Naruto. But at least he was able to stand up. He stood up quickly and pulled out a kunai, ready to throw it. But Kakashi was the quicker than him, and he grabbed Sasuke, throwing him further away, into the nearby lake, and disappearing with a 'poof'.

"Eh? Where'd he go?" Sakura asked. Naruto shrugged, and Sasuke was just walking up, dripping wet.

"Oi, oi, oi! Look! One of the bells!" Naruto stated, and ran up to it, but just when he was about to pick it up, he was hoisted into the air by a rope.

Kakashi looked at team 7 from his hiding spot. Naruto had fallen for the trap, and was now hanging upside down.

'Is that…a bruise on his stomach?' Kakashi said to himself, trying to catch a better glimpse of Naruto's stomach without making it obvious.

Sakura's looked up at Naruto in confusion. He had a rather large bruise on his stomach. It was in a strange place and couldn't have happened while he was training.

'I'll have to ask him about it later.' She thought to herself.

"If something is too obvious, you shouldn't go after it Naruto." Kakashi said as he literally came out of no where.

* * *

><p>"Iruka. There must be something you wanted to talk to me about. This can't just be about tea." Hokage said as he sipped his green tea. Iruka had called him earlier, stating that he wanted to have tea.<p>

"You're right Hokage-sama. I do want to talk about something. I want to talk about Naruto." Iruka admitted. He swirled his tea and placed it down. He wasn't very thirsty. And he couldn't drink tea while Naruto was getting abused.

"Oh? You talked to Kakashi, didn't you?" Hokage asked. "He did say he was going to talk to you about the situation."

"Yes! Take Naruto away! He's too young to realize that it's wrong!" Iruka said. He was determined to get Naruto away from Sasuke.

"Iruka, there's something you don't realize. Naruto loves Sasuke. He loved the Uchiha's more than anything else. They saved him. What would have happened if he wasn't adopted by them (Hmm, he would have turned out okay?) Sasuke is the last of the Uchiha that Naruto can actually love."

"But-" Iruka began, but the Hokage interrupted him.

"Shall I tell you what happened those two times we tried to take Naruto away from Sasuke?"

**Flashback**

_"WAKE UP!" A 9 year-old Sasuke yelled. He had woken up in the hospital, and found Naruto was in the bed next to him, sleeping peacefully._

_'Peacefully…how can you sleep peacefully when our family was murdered…no…Naruto isn't part of my family.' Sasuke thought as he poked Naruto harshly in the stomach._

_"Wha…?" Naruto muttered._

_"Dobe! You don't even care for my family do you? How can you sleep through it?" Sasuke shouted, shaking Naruto violently, causing the boy to cry._

_"Stop crying! STOP IT!" He yelled, irritated. He hated that Naruto was crying. He pulled back his hand and slapped the boy, which only resulted in him crying more._

_"Hokage-sama, you can't leave Naruto with Sasuke! Split them up, he's hurting him already. Can you imagine what'll happen if they keep on living together? Sasuke will eventually kill him!" A woman said. She had blonde hair and beautiful deep brown eyes. She looked so young, but some people knew better. She was actually in her late 40's._

_"Yes Tsunade-hime, I'm going to talk with Naruto right now." Hokage said as he beckoned Naruto over._

_"Naruto, come here please." Hokage said as Naruto got up off the bed slowly. Sasuke glanced at the Hokage quickly before turning his attention to Naruto. He wanted to hear the conversation. However, the Hokage picked up on this, and pulled the curtain over, blocking Sasuke's view._

_"Yes Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked. The Hokage was a little surprised at this. The child's eyes weren't puffy from crying, and he showed no signs of what had just happened between him and Sasuke._

_"Naruto, you're going to be moving okay? And it's going to be faraway from Sasuke so-" At this, Naruto's eyes widened._

_"NO! NO! I don't want to leave Sasuke! He needs me! And I need him, too." Naruto shouted, he pulled the curtain aside, and ran up to said boy, hugging him. Sasuke got angry, and pushed Naruto off, but Naruto kept grabbing onto him. Sasuke, who was emotionally exhausted, gave in._

**End Flashback**

"That was the first time." The Hokage said. Iruka was still sitting, shaking slightly, and eyes wide looking down at the table. Why in the world would Naruto act like that? Couldn't he see what Sasuke was doing to him? Couldn't he see that Sasuke _didn't_care about him

"And the second time…" He began.

**Flashback**

_"Naruto! Go answer the door!" Sasuke yelled out and Naruto got up off of the couch he was lounging on to answer the door. When he opened it, the Hokage stood there._

_"Hello Naruto."_

_"What is it?" Naruto asked. He had taken a small non-liking (Not hate, because Naruto doesn't hate anyone) towards this man since he tried to take him away from Sasuke._

_"May I come in?" Hokage asked._

_"I guess so, but you better make it quick!" Naruto said, and led the Hokage to the couch, once there, the pair sat down._

_"Naruto, I've come to you to ask if you'd like to leave. I'll make sure Sasuke doesn't do anything to you if you do. I'll keep you safe, and I'll make sure he doesn't try to find you. You will be living with a man named Hatake Kakashi. He'll take good care of you." Hokage said._

_"No! I told you last time Hokage-jisan! I don't want to go! I won't ever leave Sasuke, because I'm all he has. What's going to happen if I leave! He already lost our family! He doesn't need to lose me as well."_

**End Flashback**

'I see now… He really does love Sasuke.' Iruka said, forgetting the fact that the Hokage was there as he assessed Naruto's situation.

* * *

><p>Naruto was tightly tied to a pole, and Sakura and Sasuke stood next to Naruto. Kakashi was standing across from them.<p>

"I sometimes wonder how rookies pass when they do something so stupid." Kakashi began.

"You three don't seem to understand anything at all do you? No…no, I'm wrong. Naruto seems to be the only one who understands." Kakashi finished.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Why do you think you're put into teams?" Kakashi asked, and when he received no answer, he continued.

"It's because you have to work as a team. Ninja's have to learn to fight and work alone, but also, many ninja's go on missions together, to protect each other. Sasuke, all you cared about was fighting me. To you, Sakura and Naruto were only getting in your way. Sakura, you didn't care about working with Naruto, you only wanted to help Sasuke. If you three are to remain Genin, you have to really think about what teamwork is. I'll give you a lunch break, and then we'll try again. You're only going to have until three o'clock to get these bells now. If you don't get them you will _all_be going back to the Academy." Kakashi said as he handed over a bento each to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Oi! What about me!" Naruto asked, squirming. He really wanted to be untied. He was so hungry and wanted to eat too.

"None for you Naruto. And Sasuke, Sakura, don't share." Kakashi said as he disappeared with a poof.

"OI! That's not fair! I'm hungry too!" Naruto whined slightly, eying Sakura and Sasuke's food.

Sakura looked at Naruto, and then down at her food.

'Everything I said about him…I can't believe it. I should have known he was alone. I should have known he's been through so much. But now, I'll help him! I want to make him happy! And…I need to find out what's going on between him and Sasuke…And, I need to find out how he got that bruise on his stomach. It can't be from training.'

Sasuke held out her bento for Naruto. Sasuke sighed and held out his as well.

"Here Naruto," Sakura said as she held out he bento. "You need to eat if we're going to get those bells!" Sakura smiled gently, and suddenly, there was a dark cloud and Kakashi appeared.

"YOU!" He yelled out.

"EH!" Sakura and Naruto said together, worried about what was going to happen now.

"Didn't I tell you not to share?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes but…we're…a team! If Naruto can't eat, I won't either! I won't let him starve!" Sakura said as she took a place in front of Naruto. Sasuke tensed up for a moment, but did the same.

"A team eh?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, a team…"

"Okay then, you PASS!" Kakashi said, smiling.

* * *

><p>Kind of similar to the animemanga, I know.

Also, what do you think about Kakashi and Iruka as a couple in this? It's going to be a bit different from 'normal' Kakashi/Iruka pairings. They aren't together yet and it won't be a typical thing. It will also only be a small side pairing, though.

Review's make me smile!


	7. Confrontation

AN: I apologize for this chapter being a bit...choppy? It's two different chapters combined into one. I didn't want to separate them because they'd be way too short. I also would have also gotten it out sooner, but I was (still am) so unhappy with it.

* * *

><p><em>"A team eh?" Kakashi asked.<em>

_"Yes, a team…"_

_"Okay then, you PASS!" Kakashi said, smiling._

"We…pass? _How_?" Sakura asked, amazed. They hadn't even done anything, so why would Kakashi suddenly pass them? They didn't get the bells, and they seemed to have annoyed him before they started to eat lunch. Not only that, both Sakura and Sasuke were sharing their food with Naruto even though Kakashi had specifically told them _not _to share. In all three of their opinions, they _shouldn't _be passing.

"You three finally learned to act as a team, and learning to work as a team is the most important thing ever." Kakashi began. "In the world of the ninja, those who violate the rules and laws are called trash. However... those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash. Your teammates are important to you, and you three will learn that even more as time goes on." Kakashi added in. He remembered when Obito had said that to him. He never knew it would become such an important part of his life.

"Okay, let's go home. You all had a busy, hectic day." Kakashi said as he, Sasuke, and Sakura began walking.

"OI! I'm still tied up here!" Naruto yelled when he noticed his teammates and sensei were walking away, without even thinking about him. Was he really that easy to forget?

* * *

><p>"Sasuke-kun, Naruto! We passed, isn't that great? He actually passed us! We get to stay on the same team!" Sakura shouted in happiness as the trio began walking home. She attempted to hug Sasuke, but decided not to when she realized he didn't look too happy. Kakashi had explained to them that they did, in fact, act like a team, and because of that, they had become the first team that Kakashi had ever passed. That was quite an accomplishment, because Kakashi was actually an amazing jounin. And he would make an excellent teacher for these three young genin.<p>

"Hn." Sasuke responded, and kept walking, not caring what Sakura had to say.

"Yeah, I think its great Sakura-chan!" Naruto happily agreed. He was relieved that he wouldn't have to go to the academy. He didn't want to make Sasuke angry.

"Hey, Naruto. There's something I wanted to ask you." Sakura began, stopping short, her tone of voice becoming more serious.

"Eh? What is it Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously. Maybe she wanted to be his friend? Wouldn't that be great! Sakura was finally warming up to him!

"What happened to your stomach?" She asked innocently, at this, both Sasuke and Naruto froze. She had seen the bruise on Naruto's stomach when the blond was dangling from the rope. Kakashi had seen it too, Sakura was able to tell by the way he was looking at Naruto. Sakura made it less obvious that she had seen it though,

* * *

><p>'It really is getting bad. If Sasuke keeps hurting him like that, it's going to affect his training, which will make Sasuke even more furious in the long run.' Kakashi thought as he made his way to meet Iruka for a late lunch. When he saw the bruise on Naruto's stomach, he knew that it was Sasuke's doing. Kakashi knew Naruto trained, but there was no way he could do that during training, the spot it was in was too awkward. So it had to be Sasuke.<p>

"Kakashi!" Iruka called out, quickly walking up to him.

"Hello Iruka-sensei." Kakashi greeted happily. Well, as happily as he could. He could never really hide anything from Iruka. For some strange reason, the chuunin was able to read him like a book, despite Kakashi being an expert at hiding his feelings.

"I spoke with the Hokage today…About Naruto." Iruka began. He tried to stay as serious as possible.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked trying to take his mind off of Naruto's bruised stomach.

"Yes and…I'm sorry, but you were right. We won't be able to get him to leave Sasuke. But why didn't you tell me that you offered to take him in twice? Or that _you _were going to take him in?" Iruka asked as they began to walk to his house, which was where they were going to eat lunch. Iruka was an excellent cook, Kakashi had learned first hand.

"Forgive me. It must have slipped my mind. I'm glad you agree and understand now, though. As for me taking him in, well he _is_my sensei's son after all." Kakashi responded. He wanted to get Iruka to understand, and now he did. So if he mentioned anything about Naruto being hurt today, Iruka would completely change his mind. And Kakashi didn't want that. And Naruto certainly didn't need it.

"Now, shall we go eat?" Iruka asked.

'Maybe I should…talk to Sasuke.' Kakashi thought.

* * *

><p>"What? What are you talking about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in fear, stopping in his tracks. He didn't even notice the bruise, but he assumed he must have gotten it last night.<p>

"The bruise, you know," She paused for a moment. "…the one on your stomach. What happened?" Sakura asked again, concerned for her fellow teammate.

"I…" He looked over to Sasuke, who wore an expression on his face that said '_You better not tell her the truth_.'

"Well, I was nervous last night and I walked into an open drawer in my room. No big deal Sakura-chan! I'm just really clumsy. I hurt myself sometimes." He smiled at her, and laughed gently, covering up all the lies and the pain he felt.

"Naruto! You're so clumsy; you have to be more careful! What if you hurt yourself so much that you can't train? That wouldn't be good for Sasuke-kun and I! You'd mess up our training because of your clumsiness." Sakura said as the three began walking again. When they met at the turn by the forest, Sakura went one way, while Naruto and Sasuke went the other.

'I wonder where Naruto lives, must be close to Sasuke-kun if they walk the same way.' Sakura thought as she walked home alone, watching her teammates as they walked together in silence.

'And Naruto? I highly doubt you're _that_clumsy…' Sakura added in as an afterthought. Something else must have happened to Naruto, and being his teammate(and friend?) she'd find out what it was.

* * *

><p>"What was that for Sasuke-san?" Naruto whined as Sasuke shoved him into their house.<p>

"You're lucky that girl is so stupid Naruto, or else she would have thought you were hurt in some other way. You better not tell anyone Naruto, or I'll throw you out." Sasuke threatened, leaving the terrified boy standing there, shaking slightly, as Sasuke went up to his room.

'NO! Sasuke can't throw me out! He needs me! I have to learn how to lie better, and how to cover myself up better!' Naruto thought to himself as he climbed up the stairs to his room. He couldn't let anyone else know about the bruise.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi, what did you want to speak to me about?" Sasuke asked as he approached his sensei. However, any passerby wouldn't know they were teacher and student, because of the way Sasuke talked to him.<p>

"It's about Naruto." Kakashi stated. Sasuke stopped in front of him. Kakashi had shown up at Sasuke's (and Naruto's) house and asked if he could meet him somewhere to talk.

"Oh? What did he do now?" Sasuke asked, slightly angered at the blond now.

Kakashi sighed, wondering why Sasuke always thought badly of Naruto whenever his name was mentioned

"He didn't do anything wrong Sasuke-kun, that's the point." The gray-haired Jounin responded.

"Oh?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this, wondering where this conversation was heading.

"Yes. You blame him for Itachi's deeds. It's not Naruto's fault what happened. You shouldn't be hurting him, mentally or physically. I don't know if your parents told you this or not, but beating up on your little brother is wrong. Beating on anyone for no reason is wrong." Kakashi said.

Sasuke didn't know what to say to this. He didn't think it was wrong to hurt Naruto. Sasuke believed that Naruto _did_deserve it. If Naruto hadn't come into his life, Itachi wouldn't have killed his clan.

"He's not my little brother. He was never a brother to me." Sasuke stated.

"Sasuke, I don't-" Kakashi began.

"Shut up Kakashi. Did Naruto speak to you?" Sasuke asked. 'I'll have to give him a piece of my mind when I get home. I never said he could speak with Kakashi alone.' He added in as an after thought.

"Sasuke you're selfish. Why can't you see what's right in front of you?" Kakashi said as he shook his head and walked away. He wasn't going to get through to the boy, but for Naruto's safety, he'd have to find a way.

* * *

><p>"Hi Sasuke-san! Where'd you go?" Naruto asked as he greeted the older boy at the door. When Naruto had woken up this morning, Sasuke was gone, Naruto figured he went to go train, or something along the lines of that. Sasuke did tend to do it a lot, so Naruto was used to it.<p>

"None of your business Usuratonkachi!" Sasuke shouted pushing Naruto to the floor.

"What did I do this time Sasuke-san?" Naruto asked. Sasuke snapped. Naruto spoke in his normal tone of voice. But when he said 'this time' it made Sasuke mad.

"Shut the hell up! Don't talk when I tell you to shut your mouth." Sasuke yelled, kneeling down to Naruto's level and pulled his face up close to his.

"Wha…?" Naruto began; he didn't understand why Sasuke suddenly jumped him.

"If I catch you sneaking off to talk to someone without me, I will not hesitate to throw you out." Sasuke warned the younger boy. "Do you understand?"

"But Sasuke-san!" Naruto whined, wanting to defend himself. He wanted Sasuke to know that he didn't talk to anyone, but Sasuke wouldn't let him finish.

"Do you understand?" Sasuke asked again.

"Yes, yes!" Naruto answered. Sasuke slapped him across the cheek. Naruto tried to turn away, but Sasuke grabbed his chin and pulled him closer.

"Don't move!" Sasuke yelled and placed his lips upon Naruto's. Naruto was stunned. He didn't know what urged Sasuke to want to kiss him again. He felt something come up against his lips, but he kept them firmly closed. Annoyed, Sasuke pulled back.

"Naruto, open your mouth." Sasuke ordered. He leaned in again before Naruto could respond. Once again, Naruto felt Sasuke tongue against his lips, but this time Naruto opened his mouth, letting Sasuke's tongue enter.

It was hard for Naruto to describe what it felt like. Sasuke's tongue was moving around in his mouth, occasionally moving it along his own tongue. Naruto whimpered softly, placing his hands against Sasuke's chest and pushed very, very gently, so gently normal people wouldn't take notice of it.

But Sasuke did, and he pulled away.

"Don't you dare push me away Naruto! You're mine. Do you understand that? I can do whatever the hell I want to with you! If I want to kiss you I can, if I want to hurt you, I can. You have no say in anything? Do you understand me Naruto?"

"Yes Sasuke-san…I understand…"

* * *

><p><strong>Time jump<strong>

Naruto sighed as he twirled his pen in his hand, unsure of what to write. It troubled him, because he was always able to write something. He always wrote what was in his heart, but for some reason…he was at a loss for words today.

_It's been four months since we've become Genin, and we've been on a a good amount of missions, but they were all boring, and they were all only D-class missions! One of them included getting an old lady's cat back. I want to actually go on a higher mission. Maybe a B-class, and if not B, then at least a C-class! Just something that's better than picking up garbage and rescuing stupid cats ! I think Sasuke-san thinks the same way as well. He seems to be getting frustrated lately. I wonder why. I asked him if I could go train alone today, and he said yes! So, that's where I'm going now! I wonder if I'll find anything interesting on the way._

~Naruto

Naruto had been training for about five or so hours, and had decided that he was going to take a break and go to Ichiraku ramen to eat in order to settle his grumbling stomach.. On his way there however, he encountered a box lying in the middle of the sidewalk. Yes a box.

"Eh?" Naruto gasped as he looked at the box, it wasn't every day that you saw a box in the middle of the sidewalk, but seeing as though it wasn't a threat he decided to ignore it, and began walking again. After a few steps, he stopped and turned around. Was the box following him? So after a few minutes of stopping, he confronted the box.

"OI! I know you're following me! Show yourself!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the box. Suddenly, a young boy jumped out of the box, high into the air.

"NARUTO! I challenge you!" He yelled as he flew through the air. He was wearing gray shorts, and a yellow shirt with the Konoha symbol on it in red. He wore the traditional ninja sandals. Around his neck he wore a long blue scarf, and on his forehead, he wore the same goggles Naruto used to wear before he was a genin.

As the young boy neared the ground, one would expect him to land on his feet gracefully. But instead, the boy got tangled up in his scarf, and fell flat on his face; Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"Uhh, are you okay?" Naruto asked after he stopped laughing. He slowly he approached the young boy.

"I'm fine! I came to challenge you though! I heard you wanted to become Hokage! So that makes you my rival, because I want that title too!" The boy said as he stood up. As he finally got a close look at the goggles that the brat was wearing, Naruto came to a realization.

"OI! Those are my goggles! Where did you get them?" Naruto asked as he pointed at the said goggles.

"I, uh…" The boy mumbled.

"You shouldn't be stealing from your superiors!" Naruto scolded.

"But you're so cool! I've been watching you!" The boy stated.

"Eh? Watching me?" Naruto asked. He hadn't noticed anyone watching him. Except maybe Sasuke.

"Yeah! Oh, my name is Konohamaru by the way!" He said, introducing himself.

"Okay, but that still doesn't mean you can go stealing other people's things!" Naruto said.

"Alright boss, I won't do it again. But can you teach me one thing at least?" Konohamaru asked.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, curious.

"Oiroke no jutsu!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

"Oiroke no jutsu?" Naruto repeated. It was a 'secret' of Naruto's, and he had no idea how Konohamaru knew about it. 'I guess he really has been watching me.' Naruto thought, looking at the younger boy.

"Yeah! Ebisu-sensei is annoying, and I want to use it one him so he'll leave me alone. He annoys me!" Konohamaru complained as he sat down on a rock.

* * *

><p>"Oiroke no jutsu!" Konohamaru yelled out and Naruto was amazed. Konohamaru had been practicing for only an hour, and he already got it! The first few times he did it however, he transformed into a very…plump and unattractive woman.<p>

"You got that fast! Not bad! We should both go trick your sensei with this!" Naruto said happily.

"Let's go!" Konohamaru said as he ran off towards the spot where he and Ebisu normally trained. Naruto followed close behind.

"Ebisu-sensei!" Konohamaru cried out as he saw his sensei at their usual waiting spot.

"Konohamaru, what are you doing with him?" Ebisu asked as he glared daggers at Naruto. He knew what and who Naruto was, and he didn't like him.

"I have something for you Ebisu-sensei!" Konohamaru said as he looked at Naruto, who looked back at him.

"Oh? And what's that?" Ebisu asked, unsure of what emotion to portray.

"Oiroke no jutsu!" The two chanted together, and once the puff of smoke was gone, it reveled two very sexy, very naked girls. At this, Ebisu's eyes widened.

"Why would you teach him something so low and filthy? He's still a child! And what makes you think I'd fall for it?" Ebisu shouted as he grabbed Konohamaru's (who was back in his normal body) arm and began dragging him away.

"Naruto-niichan! Help! Don't leave me with _him_!" Konohamaru yelled as he was pulled farther away.

"OI! Bastard!" Naruto yelled out and Ebisu turned to him.

"Haremu no jutsu!" Naruto yelled out, and Ebisu was surrounded by about one hundred versions of Naruto in his Oiroke form. At this, his eyes widened once more, and he got a nosebleed, causing him to go flying far into the distance.

"Thank you Naruto!" Konohamaru said as he took a seat next to said boy.

"You're welcome Konohamaru!"

There was something Konohamaru wanted to ask Naruto. So, as they sat there in silence, Konohamaru finally got up the courage to ask him.

"Naruto-niichan?"

"Ah?"

"Why…why do you live in the Uchiha mansion? You're not an Uchiha…"

"I am by adoption!" Naruto said proudly. "They adopted me when I was three, and after they all…passed away, I stayed there with Sasuke. I love him, so I wouldn't want him to leave him alone! That's why I stay with him." Naruto finished. Within the small speech, there was no sadness aside from the part when he mentioned that The Uchiha's were dead. He was so happy when he spoke of Sasuke. From his words alone one could tell how much the blond cared for the raven.

"You love him? You mean as a brother or-" Konohamaru was cut off as Ebisu appeared.

"Let's go Konohamaru…" He said, pulling the boy by the wrist.

"Wait! I want him to answer me. Ebisu-sensei, wait!" Konohamaru groaned as he was dragged away from Naruto, who was waving goodbye at him.

"It's not nice to ask such personal questions like that Konohamaru."

* * *

><p>Not much else will happen between Sasuke and Naruto right now aside from maybe more kissing. Naruto is only eleven and Sasuke is only thirteen, so eh, they're a bit too young. Although Sasuke will get a bit frustrated. Puberty. Go figure! Anyway, please review! Like I said, sorry about the choppiness of this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it though.<p>

The Zabuza/Haku arc is up next!


	8. Imagine

I finally have a beta reader for this, yay! Thanks to andwhatyousaid for being a super awesome and amazing beta-reader (and person, too!).

Also, shout out to Uena for being the one hundredth reviewer. I'll have to do something for you. Just not sure what, yet!

Thanks to all of you who also put this on your favorite list. Over 75 last I checked. Just wanted to say thanks!

Enjoy this chapter! It's the beginning of the Zabuza/Haku arc!

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><p>"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whined. "For once can we <em>not<em>do a D-class mission? They're so boring and too easy! I want to do something more challenging, more exciting!" Naruto hoped his sensei would take his attention away from the stupid book in order to listen to his plea. Naruto often wondered what was so interesting about that damn book anyway… He wanted to know why Kakashi-sensei was always reading it. Icha Icha Paradise? Feh, what was so good about it?

"What's that Naruto?" Kakashi asked as he tore his attention away from Icha Icha Paradise to listen to the question Naruto asked him. The team was currently standing in line, waiting to get another mission assigned to them. Kakashi didn't really do much during the missions since his students did most of the work and they were so darn easy.

"D-class missions are so boring! Why can't we go on a B-class mission? Or even a C-class! Come on Kakashi-sensei, we can handle it! I can't take the missions assigned to us anymore!" Naruto said as he looked to his other teammates for support.

Sakura was silently agreeing with Naruto, while Sasuke was sitting there with a scowl on his face. But, Naruto knew Sasuke hated these D-class missions as well. None of them had anything to do with fighting, and Sasuke wanted to fight. Sure, some of the other missions _did_have to do with teamwork and stealth, but fighting would help in the long run. Most of all, it would help Sasuke train, and when he trained, he got one step closer to his revenge.

"Well, I suppose one little C-class mission won't hurt," Kakashi said as he approached the desk. He gave out all the information needed to get a C-class mission.

"Okay, you three will be protecting someone," Sandaime said.

"Eh, eh! Really? Who is it? A princess?" Naruto asked the Hokage in excitement.

"Let me introduce you…You may enter Tazuna," the Hokage said. A man walked into the room, leaning against the door frame. The man had spiky, gray hair, with a matching beard and mustache. He was wearing a black shirt and khaki pants. Around his shoulders looked what might be a towel. He also had a knapsack on his back, which most likely help essentials for the trip.

"What? These three brats are going to be escorting me? With their luck I'll be dead before I exit this village! And that short one over there, he has a stupid face, is he really a ninja?" Tazuna asked, referring to Naruto.

"EH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto yelled as he was about to charge towards the man. But, Kakashi held onto him. "Naruto, don't kill our customer." Kakashi said.

Tazuna said, "My name is Tazuna, I'm an excellent bridge builder and I expect that you'll protect me with everything you've got."

**[Scene Break]**

_I'm so excited! We actually have a C-class mission! We're going to be doing more then chasing after cats! Isn't that great? I can't wait! We're going to be escorting someone back to his village. He's going to need protecting because some people don't want him to finish the bridge. I hope something cool happens during the mission! This is actually going to be my first time leaving this village. We leave tomorrow morning! I hope Kakashi-sensei isn't late this time, but that's probably not going to happen, because he's been late for everything! Training, missions, and he's met us for lunch a few times, but he was so late, it turned into dinner! _

_I also can't believe it's been nine months since we've all graduated from the Academy! That also means my birthday is in three months. My first birthday as a Team. I wonder how it'll go._

~Naruto

Naruto yawned as he clicked his pen off and put it on the small stand next to his bed. Upon it was an alarm clock, and small desk lamp which was currently turned on so Naruto could write. If Sasuke found out Naruto was awake late at night before an important mission he'd get really mad.

Naruto opened the floor board and stuck his journal in there. He took out the necklace and put it around his neck, under his pajamas. He was going to wear it tomorrow for good luck.

**[Scene Break]**

**Sakura's POV**

"Oi, sorry I'm late. I had to help a dolphin get back in the water," Kakashi said as he met us and Tazuna at the Konoha gates. Tazuna looked at him strangely. He probably just figured it was something that normally happened. Sasuke glared at him, while Naruto and I yelled out "Liar!"

There were things that I was slowly beginning to pick up. I noticed that Naruto and Sasuke treated each other differently than they treated everyone else. Naruto showed that he really cared for Sasuke, that he wanted to protect him. Sasuke wanted to show Naruto that he was in charge.

Currently, Naruto was walking on Sasuke's side, trying to talk to him, but after a few moments, he gave up and frowned. The frown was replaced by a smile moments later. It seemed too fake though. It was lopsided and fit Naruto's face too awkwardly.

"Kakashi-sensei. Are there ninja's in Wave country?" I asked casually to break the uncomfortable silence. There was something going on between Sasuke and Naruto. I wanted to find out what it was.

"Not in Wave country, but there are many in other countries. Hidden Villages, just like Konoha." Kakashi-sensei told us as we continued walking. There was a gleam in his eye as he saw something, but it went away after a moment.

I sighed and looked back over to Sasuke and Naruto. It was beginning to annoy me. The words Sasuke said to me when we first became a team…they hit me hard. Did I really hurt Naruto that much? Why was I so cruel? I let a stupid crush hurt one of my teammates. A stupid little crush that could have jeopardized our team. A stupid little crush…

Sasuke helped me realize that I was wrong, and I thank him for that. He really is an amazing guy. And Naruto…there's so much more to him then anyone else knows… I'm sure of that. I want to find out what it is. I want to help him, protect him. He seems to need it more then any of us.

**Normal POV**

"No! Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled as Kakashi was engulfed by a sort of rope. The two ninja's on either side of Kakashi pulled it tighter, and Kakashi disappeared, seemingly dead.

"Naruto, Sakura! Protect Tazuna!" Sasuke yelled out as he pulled two kunai out of his holster and threw it at the two mist ninja's. They dodged it easily, and came up on each of Sasuke's sides, ready to attack.

"No! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he ran to Sasuke's right side. One of the ninja's slashed at Naruto with the claws he was wearing, causing Naruto to fly back to where Sakura and Tazuna were. Naruto grasped his bleeding hand and stood up quickly. The two mist ninja's approached them and Sakura and Naruto stood their ground. They had to protect Tazuna.

"NO!" Naruto yelled out as he stood in front of Sakura and Tazuna. He'd get hit, but as long as he protected Sakura and Tazuna, it was okay. As the two Mist ninja's were about to attack, Sasuke and Kakashi jumped in their way, sending them flying into a nearby tree. Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna let out a sigh of relief.

"Hn, are you okay, scaredy cat? Only a moron like you would get hurt so early on in the mission," Sasuke said. Anyone else besides Naruto would see it as a gentle tease, but Naruto knew better.

"Naruto, your hand… we have to get medicine before the poison gets any deeper. Tazuna, this isn't a C-class mission. Those were Chuunin Mist ninjas. There's something you're not telling us…" Kakashi said as he took hold of Naruto's hand gently, so he didn't hurt him. Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

"Maybe we should just go back and get a mission that's easier…I don't want Naruto to die from poison." Sakura said sadly. If she had been a bit stronger, Naruto wouldn't have been hurt.

"NO!" Naruto yelled, pulling his hand away from Kakashi. He grabbed a kunai from his holster and stabbed his hand, ridding his body of any poison that had seeped in.

"I…I don't need protecting! And I can handle things on me own! I won't go back on my word! That's my way of the ninja!" Naruto said, and everyone starred at him. Sasuke shook his head in anger.

"Naruto, it's good that you can take pain and all, but you may bleed to death if you don't clean up that wound." Kakashi said, and Naruto began freaking out.

"NANI!" Naruto yelled out, running around in circles. Sakura smiled gently at the younger boy.

"Come here, Naruto." Kakashi said, and Naruto listened. Kakashi took his hand gently and began wrapping a piece of gauze around it. He stared at the wound as it slowly began to disappear.

"Kyuubi." Kakashi whispered.

"Kakashi-sensei, you look troubled, will I be okay?" Naruto asked, worried.

"Yes, you'll be fine, Naruto." Kakashi said as he let go of Naruto's hand.

"I hate to break this up, but there's a boat that's meeting us just up ahead, and we have to get to him before he leaves. Once we reach the boat, I will explain everything you need to know." Tazuna said.

**[Scene Break]**

"We're a very poor village," Tazuna began. Everyone was currently sitting down, as the person steering the boat traveled into the mist. It was the best route. This way they would stay hidden from any enemies that might try to attack them.

"We desperately need this bridge in order to get to other villages to trade with us. It will help us make more money in the long run, which is what our village needs the most. But there's a man after me, someone who doesn't want the bridge to be built. He was the one who sent the Mist ninjas after me. And I'm sure there are going to be more then just those two. He hires only ninjas from Kirigakure no sato, including missing-nins. So it can get quite dangerous. We stopped building the bridge for a while because of that. So, I decided to travel to Konoha to hire some help." Tazuna said, letting out a deep breath. He was hoping, praying, that they'd still accept the mission. Tazuna and his village needed them. Konoha was their only choice. It was the closet village; Tazuna didn't have enough money to travel any further.

"A man? Why would he want to stop you from building the bridge? What's the big deal?" Naruto asked as the boat came to a halt near a small dock. The man steering the boat told them that it was as far as he could go. Tazuna paid him. They got out of the boat, walked up the deck, and let Tazuna lead them the rest of the way.

"His name is Gatou. He doesn't want anything done that he can't control. He'd never be able to control what we do with our trade, so, he doesn't want the bridge to be built." Tazuna said, sighing.

"Is that so?" Kakashi said, waiting for Tazuna to admit something.

"Kakashi-san, you were correct in saying that this is not a C-class mission. It's more of a B-class mission, but our village couldn't afford a B-class mission. We desperately needed your protection. I apologize, but there was nothing I could have done. If you'd like to leave, go on and leave. I wouldn't blame you in the least. But, my cute little grandson will be devastated if I die! He's only eight years old! Can you imagine, losing someone so precious to you at such a young age?" Tazuna said. He knew that these ninjas were very kind. Konoha was a very peaceful ninja village. There was no way they'd turn him down.

Sasuke and Naruto froze up at this. The way Tazuna had said it, sounded as if he were joking. But how can a person joke about that? Joke about losing someone's family. Naruto and Sasuke knew how much it hurt, and they were both taken back by his words. It hurt, it had hurt so much.

"Well, I guess its okay. It's too late to go back now anyway," Kakashi said, looking at his team. It wasn't going to be too bad. They were fairly strong, and he knew that Naruto had tons of potential. While his other two students, Sakura and Sasuke did have potential, if Naruto was pushed hard enough, he'd surpass them quickly.

"Can _we _imagine? No, we can't. Because we," Sasuke was referring to himself and Naruto. "_We l_ost our family over four years ago! Our whole family was wiped out by our older brother. Can you imagine how painful _that _would be?" Sasuke hissed, furious. Naruto had seen Sasuke angry before, but never this angry. Not only that, but, Sasuke had talked about Naruto like Naruto was his brother, just like how it used to be.

Sakura's eyes widened at Sasuke's words. Sasuke's older brother killed his family? She wondered what Sasuke meant by that. It had sounded like Naruto was his younger brother. But that was impossible. Naruto wasn't an Uchiha. He didn't look like an Uchiha either. Were her ears playing tricks on her? Either way, at that point, Sakura realized that she knew absolutely nothing about her teammates. She thought Naruto was just a carefree hyperactive child, and she just thought Sasuke was a bit anti-social. But she was very, very wrong.

Kakashi sighed as he looked at the two boys. Tazuna had to learn how to choose his words better. He knew Sasuke would get angry at this. There was nothing Kakashi could do. He had to let everything happen on its own. However, he did still want to take Naruto away from Sasuke.

A pair of brown eyes followed Naruto as he walked with his team and Tazuna. He hid within the mist, which was very easy for him, since he was a Mist ninja. The brown-eyed teen knew that the boy was younger then his two teammates, most likely by about two years or so, but no doubt just as strong as them, if not stronger. He had a lot of power, but it needed to be brought out – better yet, triggered_,_was the right word. He had such innocence surrounding him. It would rub off on his sensei and female teammate. But, it wouldn't rub off on the raven boy. The blond boy looked like he would follow the raven boy anywhere he wanted him, as if the raven boy was his master and the blond boy was his tool. From the looks of it, the blond boy cared for the raven boy very much, and no matter how much the raven seemed to abuse him, the blond still seemed to love him.

It was amazing what one could do by just watching others. It was amazing what one could see from another persons actions. But the most amazing thing of all was how much you can see from someone's eyes. The blond boy seemed to be such a caring person, very innocent, while the raven boy was tainted and wanted to take that innocence away. It was as if he wanted to be the only one to take that innocence away.

"You're an interesting person," The young brown-eyed boy said, referring to Naruto. "I wonder what Zabuza-san would think of you." With a few quick hand signs, he vanished.

"Ano sa, ano sa! Kakashi-sensei, I'm hungry! You think there's any ramen here? I want ramen! Can we get some ramen?" Naruto asked, grabbing his sensei's vest gently and tugging at it, hoping his sensei would get the point.

"Naruto, shut up," Sasuke said angrily. He was getting really annoyed at Naruto's whining. He had to deal with it at home, so he really didn't want to deal with it on a mission as well. Naruto's stupid love for ramen drove Sasuke crazy. The cupboards in their house were filled with instant ramen. At one point, Sasuke had gotten really angry and threw it all away, only to find out that Naruto had stashes of instant ramen in various places of their house. So in the end, Sasuke just gave up. Having Naruto eat ramen was better then having Naruto complain that there was no ramen.

"We can eat at my house, Naruto. Continue to follow me. It's not to far from here. We'll be there in about ten minutes." Tazuna said as he led the group from Konoha to his house. There, they would meet his daughter and grandson.

When Tazuna looked at Naruto, he saw hope. Naruto was such an extraordinary child. Tazuna's grandson, Inari, was so depressed and never came out of his shell since his step-father died. Tazuna believed if Naruto spoke to Inari, he'd beat some sense into him and Inari would go back to his old self. On the outside, it may seem that Tazuna didn't like Naruto. However, on the inside, he was very much inspired by Naruto.

**[Scene Change]**

"Zabuza-san, there's a boy here from Konoha. I think you'll find him quite interesting." The brown-eyed boy said as he stood in front of a large man, who was currently sitting down on a large couch. The man had short black, spiky hair. There were bandages wrapped around the top of his nose, to his neck. He wore a strap along his chest, and camouflage armbands. He had on khaki pants and traditional ninja sandals. Around his head, he had a forehead protector. This man was a missing ninja from Kirigakure no sato, the Hidden Mist Village. He held a large sword, big enough to kill someone in one swipe.

"Oh? And why would you say that Haku?" Zabuza asked, adjusting his sword so it lay comfortably on his shoulders.

"He follows the raven boy around, and would do anything for him. He seems to love him very much. He's very innocent and vulnerable." Haku responded.

"And you can tell that by just watching him?"

"Yes. He'd be a very good tool for you Zabuza. You can twist his personality any which way you'd like."

"Well, I should have a look at this child. Did you get his name?" Zabuza asked, standing up.

"No, I haven't gotten his name. But something about him reminds me of a fox." Haku said, and Zabuza disappeared behind the mist that had suddenly appeared.

Haku took a seat where Zabuza was previously. If the blond boy joined them, Haku felt that he would somehow change Zabuza. The blond boy had an air of innocence around him. It was something that would rub off on everyone around him. Zabuza was no exception.

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><p>Don't forget to review please!<p> 


	9. Captured

Once again, thanks to my awesome beta 'andwhatyousaid'. She rocks :D

* * *

><p>They were about five minutes away from Tazuna's house when something happened, something unexpected that would drastically change everything. A large man carrying a huge sword took Team 7 and Tazuna by surprise. Everyone jumped into action. Kakashi had yelled out at his team to protect Tazuna, while he dealt with the enemy. But Tazuna wasn't what this man was after. Not yet, at least. He was after the blond boy who stood on Tazuna's left, protecting the old man.<p>

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, hoping he'd be okay. She knew Kakashi was very strong, but this man looked like he'd kill anyone without any remorse. There was no doubt in Sakura's mind that the ninja was just as strong, if not stronger, than her sensei.

'He must be the one that's here for Tazuna,' Kakashi thought as he looked at the forehead protector the man was wearing.

"Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, stay there with Tazuna, you need to protect him! I'll take care of this guy!" Kakashi shouted as he saw Naruto take a step forward, as if to help him.

"I don't think you seem to understand Kakashi. I _am _after Tazuna, but not right now. The one who I am after at this moment is him." Zabuza said, pointing over to where Naruto was standing. Tazuna, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke all looked at Naruto, who wore a look of confusion on his face.

"M…e…me? Why me?" Naruto asked, his voice was shaky and barely there, almost as if he had lost it. He was so shocked. He didn't understand what this weird eyebrow-less guy wanted with him.

"You will learn soon enough, Naruto, but right now, I must deal with Kakashi before I get to you." Zabuza said as he turned his attention back to Kakashi. At this point, Sasuke had stepped forward and braced himself, ready to attack Zabuza.

"No! Sasuke, stay there! All three of you stay there with Tazuna." Kakashi said sternly.

"I am Momochi Zabuza. Missing-nin of the Mist, and I'll be the one to kill you!" Zabuza yelled as he ran towards Kakashi, who braced himself, but as soon as Zabuza was in front of him, he disappeared, only to reappear a moment later in front of Naruto. Luckily for the blond boy, Kakashi was a skilled fighter. Kakashi was there seconds later, with a kunai jabbed through Zabuza's stomach. Sasuke and Sakura gasped as they saw water pool out. It was a water clone! The real Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, causing Naruto to gasp and take a step backwards. Quickly, Zabuza unsheathed his sword and swung it forward with the intent to kill Kakashi. However, Kakashi saw it coming, and flipped sideways, successfully missing the blow. He flipped back a few feet away, a safe enough distance to take the fight away from where Naruto was standing.

"So, you're faster than I thought. That's good, Kakashi. We can get serious." Zabuza said, cracking his neck.

"Serious? All right, we'll get serious." Kakashi said as he lifted his forehead protector onto his forehead, revealing his left eye, which caused Sasuke and Naruto to gasp in shock. At the gasp, Sakura looked at the two boys in confusion.

'How does he have that? Only true Uchiha's are supposed to posses that! And he has it in only one of his eyes. How is that possible! Could it be that he's a member of the Uchiha clan?' Sasuke thought as he watched his sensei fight. He was angry. He didn't have the sharingan yet, but his sensei, who wasn't even an Uchiha, had it.

'I don't understand, I thought only Uchiha's were supposed to have the sharingan eye! Why does Kakashi-sensei have it? Have I missed something? Is he a long lost relative or something?' Naruto thought as he looked over to Sasuke, hoping for an answer, but Sasuke looked just as confused as he did.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Zabuza yelled out, and a blast of water shot out at Kakashi, only to be counterattacked by the same technique. Somehow, it seemed Kakashi already knew the technique.

"My sharingan eye allows me to quickly learn my opponent's moves ." Kakashi said, answering Zabuza's silent question.

"Ah yes, I've heard of you! You're the famous copy ninja Kakashi. Very interesting." Zabuza said.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Zabuza yelled out again, and Kakashi once more counteracted it. But, right after the water was dispersed, Zabuza took the opportunity to kick Kakashi into the water.

"SENSEI!" Naruto shouted, as he saw Zabuza jump onto the water, literally standing on top of it, watching as Kakashi surfaced.

"This water is very heavy for some reason." Kakashi said as Zabuza appeared behind him, standing on the water.

"You won't be able to counteract or steal this from me! Suirô no Jutsu!" Zabuza yelled out and performed a few quick hand signs, and Kakashi was unable to pick it up from his sharingan eye. Kakashi gasped as he was submerged into an inescapable sphere of water. He was still able to breathe, but there was no way he'd be able to escape. Zabuza held out his arm, his hand submerged in the water sphere, almost as if he were holding the water sphere that Kakashi was in.

"Kakashi, whether you live or die is no matter to me right now. All I want is Naruto. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" Zabuza yelled, and a water clone submerged from the water, running up to Naruto and kicking him away from his other teammates. His forehead protector flew off, and he tumbled to the ground.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura! Take Tazuna-san and run! You three can't win against him, and there's nothing I can do right now! He can't move or he'll drop the water prison! If you get far enough away, his clone can't get to you! Go now!" Kakashi yelled out.

"Run? No, we won't run. All we'll be doing is prolonging this fight. He will eventually find us, and we'll be killed." Sasuke said as he ran towards the Zabuza clone, throwing kunai and shuriken at him. Once he approached him, he jumped into the air, but as he descended, Zabuza caught him by the throat and threw him.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled out.

"Sasuke-san!" Naruto shouted. He couldn't be weak anymore. He had to help Sasuke! He charged forward towards the older man, only to get kicked back again. When he stood up, Sakura realized that the reason he ran towards him was to grab his forehead protector.

"BAKA! Don't do that! It's not worth it just for that! You could get killed!" Sakura yelled out.

"Heh." Naruto tied his forehead protector back onto his forehead, and looked over to Sasuke. "Sasuke, I have a plan." Naruto said.

"You were actually able to think of a plan Naruto? It better work, I'm not ready to die, especially not for you." Sasuke said coldly.

'Sasuke-kun…he's so…mean to Naruto. Is that how I am to him? Am I that mean to Naruto?' Sakura thought.

Sasuke ran towards Zabuza, only to get kicked in the stomach and thrown back. Naruto took this opportunity to use kage bushin no jutsu. Each clone grabbed a kunai and ran towards Zabuza, each trying to hit him, and each failing. At this point, Sasuke pulled out a large shuriken, the fuuma shuriken, and threw it at Zabuza.

"You think that can hit me? I can avoid that very easily!" Zabuza said as the fuuma shuriken went past him, and flew towards the real Zabuza, who grabbed it with his free hand. Another one came flying towards Zabuza, but he jumped and dodged it. From behind Zabuza, there was a poof noise. Naruto appeared and threw a kunai at Zabuza, who had no choice but to let go of the water sphere as he grabbed the kunai and threw it back at Naruto, who successfully dodged it. Zabuza ran up to Naruto and kicked Naruto further across the water. Naruto's forehead protector flew off onto the shore. Sakura ran towards the forehead protector and grabbed it, holding it close, while Zabuza grabbed Naruto, and held a kunai to his throat. By this time, Kakashi had emerged from the water and was standing about five feet in front of them.

"Tazuna, I'll be back to deal with you later!" Zabuza said as he hit Naruto in the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. He performed a few hand signs and disappeared. Leaving everyone else shocked that he had taken Naruto.

Sakura held Naruto's forehead protector close to her heart and whispered something that no one else heard. "Naruto-chan, please be okay."

**XOXOXO**

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to clear out the blurriness. When he remembered what had happened, he sat up quickly and looked around.

He was in what looked like a large living room. He was laying on a couch. The couch was large enough for him to lie down comfortably on, and there was a large pale blue blanket draped on him, keeping him warm. Looking around, he saw that the room was very dimly lit. When he looked to the left of him, he saw someone sitting down in a chair.

The person was wearing a light pink kimono that had black swirl-like designs on it. The person had long black hair, and light brown eyes.

"Hello Naruto-kun, I see you're awake now. You've been sleeping for quite a while now." The person, who Naruto had dubbed a girl, said kindly.

"Oi! Who are you? Where am I?" Naruto asked, panicking slightly, but trying to stay as brave as he could. He worried for Kakashi-sensei and Sakura, and he worried even more for Sasuke. What had happened to Zabuza? Did this pretty girl save him?

"I can't tell you where you are, but my name is Haku." Haku said, smiling warmly at Naruto.

"Tell me where I am! What happened to Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, Tazuna, and Sasuke-san? Where are they? What did Zabuza do to them?" Naruto questioned, and Zabuza entered the room, almost as if on cue.

"They're fine for now Naruto." Zabuza said, stepping closer to Naruto, who brought his legs up to his chest, hugging them, while the blanket pooled over his shoulders.

"You! Where are we? What did you do to the others? Take me back to Sasuke-san!" Naruto yelled out at the large man, angry that he had kidnapped him. While Naruto would have loved to attack him right now, he knew he didn't stand a chance against him, especially not with the extra person, Haku, there.

"Don't worry about where you are right now Naruto. I won't take you back, because I'm taking you with me. After I kill Tazuna, the three of us will be leaving this country."

"What? What the hell do you mean by that! I'm not going with you! Sasuke-san and the others will come back for me!" Naruto said, very sure of himself.

"The others will, but Sasuke-_san _could care less." Zabuza said, taunting Naruto.

"No! He'll come too! He loves me!" Naruto responded. At this, Zabuza almost felt like laughing. Almost.

"No he doesn't. He's only using you as a tool. He doesn't care for you at all. I will use you as a tool as well, just as I use Haku. But I do care for Haku. At least I can admit that. Sasuke will never admit that he cares for you, because he hates you. He doesn't need someone like you hanging around him."

"Hates me? I've grown up hated by the villagers. It hurt a lot, but when I was three, I was adopted by Sasuke's parents. They loved and cared for me so much, all of the Uchiha's did, especially Sasuke and our older brother, Itachi. But when I was seven, Itachi killed everyone except us. Sasuke is going to break without me! He needs me! And I love him, but I don't need him like he needs me. I'm strong enough to be on my own. And even if he hates me, which I know he doesn't, I'm okay with that. I'll stay by his side because he needs me. He won't ever admit it, but I know him better then anyone. I won't ever leave him! No matter what! I'll always love him."

"Is that so? Naruto, you need to drop the innocence. Learn what the real world is about. I can teach you that." Zabuza said as he left the room, leaving Naruto to think about everything that was said.

Haku looked at Naruto, who was currently resting his chin on top of his knees. He looked a little sad.

'He really does love Sasuke. He loves him so much, and he doesn't think about himself at all. He only thinks about Sasuke's feelings. That's how I am with Zabuza, but at least I know he cares for me. With Naruto, it's not so easy. There's no doubt in my mind that Sasuke does care for Naruto, but he's not going to admit it, not even to himself.'

"Haku?" Naruto's voice called out, interrupting Haku's thoughts.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"What will I do if Zabuza kills me? I want to see Sasuke-san again, I really miss him…" Naruto said sadly, looking as though he was on the verge of tears. Haku stood up and walked over to Naruto. He stood behind Naruto and pulled him into a hug.

"Eh?"

"He's not going to kill you Naruto, don't worry. And you'll see Sasuke again, I promise." Haku said.

"Thanks." Naruto said, smiling. There was something about him that Haku couldn't help but like. He leaned over and placed a very light kiss on Naruto's lips, so light it was barely even a kiss, before standing up, making his way to the door. He grasped the handle and opened it, before looking back to the shocked boy.

"Oh, and Naruto-kun? I'm a guy." Haku said before closing the door, laughing lightly to himself.

"EH! He's even prettier then Sakura-chan!

**XOXOXO**

"Kakashi-sensei, we'll go find Naruto as soon as you get better right?" Sakura asked as her sensei, who was currently lying on a futon. They were in a small room, alone. Inari, Tazuna, Tsunami, and Sasuke were all eating. His fight with Zabuza was worse then he had thought, and he fainted shortly after Zabuza left with Naruto.

"Yes, of course, Sakura. Two days is all I need to rest, and then we'll go get him."

"But, what if Zabuza kills him?" Sakura asked, on the verge of tears.

"Sakura, I don't think that's what his intention is. Don't worry about it. Go eat now. I need to rest." Kakashi said, and Sakura stood up. She didn't have an appetite, not with being so worried about Naruto.

Kakashi sighed as he moved to lie on his side. He couldn't believe he let Naruto be taken by that man.

Kakashi had watched Naruto since he was a baby. He knew that his former teacher, Minato, the Yondaime was Naruto's father. Since he cared for his sensei very much, he watched over Naruto. He watched as Naruto grew, even helped take care of him and played with him when he was a baby. He fell in love with the little boy (1), and saw him as his own son. He had planned to adopt Naruto when he was of legal age. When he was old enough, he filed papers for the young boy's adoption, but they were rejected. Apparently, at the same time, a couple had also filed papers for his adoption. They were Uchiha's, and seeing as that Uchiha's were the most respected people in the village, Kakashi never stood a chance.

He'd lie if he said he wasn't angry and sad about it, but he still secretly watched as Naruto slowly grew. Naruto was happy, which, in the long run, made Kakashi happy as well.

It all took a turn for the worse when Itachi killed the entire clan, and left Sasuke and Naruto alive. Sasuke had suddenly become very cruel to the little boy he once loved. Again, Kakashi had tried to adopt Naruto, but Naruto refused to leave Sasuke's side.

Kakashi sometimes wondered if Naruto remembered him at all. If Naruto remembered that Kakashi had been at the orphanage every day from the day he was born until the day he was adopted.

Either way, no matter what happened, Kakashi would continue to care for Naruto and protect him. No matter the cost.

* * *

><p>(1) When I say love, I mean platonic love, like a father loves his son.<p>

Eek, so I'm not really good at writing fight scenes. I like reading them, but can't write them. How was it though? Be gentle, haha.

I'll also start responding to your reviews. So if you ask questions, I may answer them!

Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! It makes me happy!


	10. Innocence

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto and do not make a profit out of the writing of this fanfiction

Thanks once again to my lovely beta '_andwhatyousaid_' for being as awesome as ever!

* * *

><p>Naruto was currently sitting on the same couch where Haku had kissed him. His head was filled with so many thoughts. He wanted to get out of this weird place, and far away from the freaky eyebrow-less Zabuza. He wanted to see Kakashi, Tazuna and Sakura again, to make sure they were okay, since it looked like Kakashi had been injured pretty badly when he left. Most of all, he wanted to see Sasuke. He missed Sasuke so much, even though they were only away from each other for about half a day. Naruto had never gone more than four hours without seeing Sasuke. He felt so empty and incomplete without Sasuke. Naruto was sure that Sasuke was feeling some emptiness without him as well, even though the raven boy would never admit it.<p>

Naruto sighed as he stared out the adjacent window from his spot on the couch, into the darkened streets. It was very dark out, and nothing could be seen due to the fact that there were barely any street lights that Naruto could make out. The mist was heavy, adding to the darkness, making it almost impossible to see anything through it. Zabuza had an advantage, he could see through it. He was able to make it through the mist without any problems.

"Naruto-kun?" Haku's voice rang from the doorway. He held a tray in his hands.

Naruto responded by simply acknowledging his presence. Haku was nice to him, very nice, but Naruto still didn't like him too much. He didn't like anyone who took him away from Sasuke.

"I've brought you some food. Won't you eat now? You haven't eaten at all since you've gotten here. You need to eat, Naruto-kun." Haku said as he walked over to the couch and placed the tray on the small table that was in front of it. On the tray was a plate of weird food Naruto had never seen before. There was also a cup sitting next to it, filled with hot and steamy green tea.

Naruto shook his head gently and turned back to the window, gazing out of it almost as if he was expecting something (or someone) to appear out of the mist. He was silently wishing that Sasuke would come rescue him from these two ninjas. Suddenly, Naruto felt stupid. He knew Sasuke wouldn't come to save him, at least not alone.

Haku watched the younger boy in sadness. Naruto was exactly like Haku when it came to his precious person. Zabuza had said that he was only using Haku as a tool, and Haku was okay with it, because Zabuza had given Haku a reason to live. For that, Haku was grateful. It didn't take long for him to fall in love with the older man.

Naruto was the same way.

"Naruto-kun?" Haku called out, hoping to get the younger ninjas attention. Naruto turned around to look at him.

"Why do you love Sasuke so much?" Haku asked.

Naruto's eyes widened as soon as Sasuke's name was mentioned. He sat down on the couch and pulled the blanket over his shoulders. He pulled his legs against his chest and smiled. It was the type of smile a person used when someone had just received a very sweet compliment from someone they really liked, or in Naruto's case, loved.

"Sasuke-san is someone a lot of people like. All the girls have crushes on him, all the guys want to be him, and all the sensei think he's a genius. He has good looks and he's smart!" Naruto said.

Haku furrowed his brows. It sounded as though Naruto had finished talking, but he didn't really answer the question that Haku had asked him.

"Almost twelve years ago, a demon named Kyuubi attacked Konoha. Yondaime Hokage tookhis own lifeby sealing it inside an infant, and that infant is me." Naruto paused, listening to Haku's gasp. Haku knew about the Kyuubi attack, and of the nine Jinchuuriki, but he didn't know that Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi!

"Until I was three, everyone looked at me with some hatred. Even at that young age, I can remember that I was so lonely. I wanted a family, a friend, anything at all, but, mostly, I wanted to be loved. It finally happened when I was three. Sasuke's parents adopted me. I was finally happy and loved. I had loving parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and two older brothers, Sasuke and Itachi. Sasuke and I got really close, we spent all of our time together, and I loved him so much. I loved my mother a lot too. She told me to always protect the ones I love, because the ones I love are my precious people. She told me never to forget that, and to this day, I still haven't. I'll protect Sasuke, even if it means giving up my own life in the process." Naruto paused again, to make sure Haku was listening. When Haku confirmed that he was, indeed, listening, Naruto went on.

"When I was seven…Itachi…" Naruto paused, looking and sounding as though he was going to cry – as if there was a deep, sad memory.

"Yes?" Haku pushed, wanting to hear the rest of the story.

"When I was seven, Itachi killed everyone in our family except Sasuke and I." Naruto said, and Haku took a very deep intake of breath. It sounded labored and painful. He never knew that Naruto had suffered this much.

"And, after that, Sasuke, well, he's who you see now. A few people tried to take me away from Sasuke a few times, but I never let them! Sasuke is my most precious person, and I won't let anyone ever split us apart." Naruto finished and looked over to Haku, who, to his surprise, was crying.

"Haku, why are you crying?" Naruto yelled, worried for the boy.

"Naruto-kun, I've never met someone as strong as you. You truly are amazing." Haku said.

"Yes, you truly are amazing, Naruto." Zabuza said as he got up from the door frame, which he had been leaning on, listening to their entire conversation. He slowly walked into the room and over to Naruto, who turned his head to ignore Zabuza.

**XOXOXO**

Haruno Sakura couldn't fall asleep. She was tossing and turning, thinking and worrying about Naruto. She was so worried that Zabuza was going to kill him. Although, that didn't really seem like his intent.

"There's something going on between Naruto-chan and Sasuke-kun, I know it! I will find out what it is! I'll make it my goal to find out!" Sakura said to herself. She wouldn't give up until she found out what was going on. Luckily, both boys were both slowly and unknowingly releasing information to her.

"Hmm, I wonder if Kakashi-sensei knows anything about them."

**XOXOXO**

Sasuke grasped the blanket that was covering his sweaty body, and turned to the side. Night had fallen several hours ago. The injured Kakashi was sleeping on a futon next to him, and Sakura was sleeping in another room. If nothing had happened earlier, Naruto would be right by his side, sleeping, and possibly even snoring.

"Damn it, why the hell would he want Naruto anyway?" Sasuke asked himself as he moved to lay on his back again. The cover slipped off of him slightly, exposing his naked stomach and chest.

"Stupid dobe. I should just leave him with those two, maybe they'll find a good use for him. Then I won't have to worry about taking care of him anymore, I won't have to worry about his whining or his complaining. I wouldn't have to deal with him ruining me. I won't have to deal with his stupid pranks. Yes, maybe I should just leave him there with Haku and Zabuza." Sasuke contemplated. Naruto was like a little lost puppy, always following him around. It would be easier for Sasuke without Naruto following him around. Sasuke wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. Not like he really worried in the first place.

"No...I have to get him back. He's my tool...my property. And I don't like being robbed of anything that's mine. I still need to use his power to kill Itachi," Sasuke said, looking over to Kakashi, who was still sleeping.

"...And after that, I'll kill Naruto."

**XOXOXO**

Naruto ignored Zabuza when the man came to stand next to him.

It was Naruto's way of saying '_Get away from me!' _Naruto was never the type of person to say cruel words to others (unless the others were insulting Sasuke. Even then, Naruto tried to stay as nice as possible.). Naruto was a nice person, who cared about everyone; he found it hard to hate anyone. Even though Zabuza hurt Kakashi-sensei, and kidnapped him, Naruto couldn't help but not hate him. Naruto felt as though there was a purpose behind everyone's actions. He didn't think anyone was completely evil. Naruto was the type of person to believe that behind every cloud was a silver lining.

"I see, Naruto, you ignore me just as you ignore the fact that Sasuke hurts you. You ignore your problems. You can't go through life like that, Naruto, because in the end, you're going to get hurt." Zabuza said.

"But Sasuke-" Naruto began, but Zabuza interrupted him by holding his hand out.

"This has nothing to do with Sasuke, Naruto. It has to do with you. It's about your happiness. If you let everyone walk all over you, you'll never be happy." Zabuza said, causing Naruto to stare at him weirdly.

"What do you mean Zabuza?" Naruto asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You really are made up of pure innocence, Naruto. I'm surprised you haven't been tainted like Sasuke has. Haku, you're right. He truly is an amazing person. He's very strong-willed, and powerful. He'll definitely get stronger with my training. I'll teach him to kill in cold blood, just as I have learned." He said as turned to leave, but Naruto stopped him by grabbing his wrist very gently, almost childlike. It was a weak grip, and if Zabuza wanted, he could have easily pulled away, but he didn't. Instead, he turned back around to face Naruto, looking into his innocent blue eyes.

"You're…not a bad person Zabuza, and either is Haku. You two really care for each other, a lot. I can see it in the way you act towards each other. I haven't even been here for that long. You talk so big, Zabuza, yet you still listen to Gatou. You're powerful; you can kill him easily, can't you? Yet instead, you listen to a man who is so much weaker than you. Why is that? You say I'm a tool...What about you? You're a tool to Gatou. Is that really what you want?" Naruto asked. Zabuza stood completely still, as if taking in everything Naruto had said.

In a flash, Zabuza pulled his arm away quickly, clenched it, and thrust in forward, hitting Naruto in the face, causing him to fall to the floor in shock and from the force of the punch.

"Brat, you need to understand who you're talking to."

Naruto winced and brought his hand up to nurse his throbbing cheek. Haku, who was watching everything in silence, jumped off the chair and pulled Naruto into his arms.

"Come on, Haku. Let's go." Zabuza said as he began walking towards the door. It was time to go and kill Tazuna, just as Gatou had asked of him. He was going to have to kill Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi in the process. Somewhere, though, something was quietly telling him not to. It was something that had never happened to Zabuza before. Was Naruto rubbing off on him? No, that couldn't be possible!

"No." Haku said quietly and nervously, almost afraid of letting Zabuza hear him.

"What did you say Haku?" Zabuza stopped dead in his tracks before turning, angrily, towards Haku. He said the words so slowly, his voice filled with venom.

"I said no!" Haku said, this time, speaking in a normal tone. He felt brave, because of Naruto. Because of the young Konoha Shinobi, he felt as though he could achieve anything. The words Naruto said went straight to his heart.

"Do you know who you're talking to Haku? Do you remember who it was, who saved you? Who gave you a purpose in life? Who gave you a reason to live?" Zabuza asked, his tone laced with anger.

"...And who gave you everything you wanted? Everything you ever needed? Who was always there for you?" Haku asked, his tone shaky but full of new found confidence, something Zabuza had never heard coming from Haku. He watched as Haku helped Naruto back onto the couch.

For the first time ever, Zabuza was speechless.

**XOXOXO**

"Kakashi-sensei, how are we supposed to rescue Naruto-chan, if we have no clue where he is?" Sakura asked as Kakashi adjusted his forehead protector to hide his sharingan. Sasuke eyed him the entire time, still wondering how Kakashi had that eye.

"I have an idea as to where he is." Kakashi said.

"We _are_going to get him back, aren't we Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. She sounded nervous and extremely doubtful. She was also on the verge of tears. She still held Naruto's forehead protector with her, feeling as though it would bring him back. She was worried about her teammate.

She smiled gently in realization. Naruto wasn't just her teammate, he was her friend.

"Yes, we will get him back. Being doubtful isn't a good trait, Sakura." Kakashi said as he began walking. Sakura and Sasuke followed close behind.

Sakura stared at Sasuke for a while. Sasuke didn't seem to care about Naruto at all. The only reason he was even here was because Kakashi was making him come.

Sakura had a bad feeling about Sasuke.

A very bad feeling.

**XOXOXO**

"Haku, go after him!" Naruto yelled out as he watched Zabuza leave the room in a burst of anger. Naruto knew Haku loved Zabuza, and Naruto also knew that if it were Sasuke walking out of the room, he'd go after him. So, Naruto was confused as to why Haku wasn't following Zabuza.

"Naruto, thank you. You've helped me realize a lot. I think, I'll finally be okay now. Everything will be okay now. It's all thanks to you." Haku said, brushing Naruto's bangs away from his face.

'_I want to protect him.'_

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, flailing his arms.

'_His innocence…I don't want Uchiha to take it away from him.'_

"Naruto-kun, for now, don't worry about it. All I know is that you'll see Sasuke very soon." Haku said cheerfully.

"Wha! Thank you!" Naruto yelled out as he jumped into Haku's arms. Haku laughed gently in return and kissed Naruto on the forehead.

"No, Naruto, thank you."

'_Thank you.'_

**XOXOXO**

"Excuse me? What the hell do you think you're saying Zabuza? I hired you to kill him! Now you're suddenly changing your plans. Do you know who I am? Do you know what I'm capable of?" Gatou asked. He was sitting in his chair, waiting for Zabuza to respond. Zabuza was currently sternly standing in front of him.

"Yes, I do, but tell me something," Zabuza said, suddenly appearing behind Gatou, holding a kunai to his throat.

"Do you know what _I'm_capable of?" He asked, and Gatou's eyes widened in shock.

"You cannot go against me! I hired you to assassinate Tazuna, not me! Step down Zabuza, or else!"

"Or else what Gatou? You're nowhere near as powerful as I am. I can slit your throat before you even realize that you've been killed."

"Or else…Those ninjas! The two I have protecting me! I'll send them after you!" Gatou said, sounding very sure of himself.

"Oh? You mean the demon brothers? The ones Kakashi killed?" Gatou gasped at this. So that was why they hadn't been around! They were killed!

"My men! I'll send them after you!" Gatou said.

"Haku can trap them in his Makyô Hyô Shô, and then kill them in an instant. Either way, how will you call them, if you're already dead?" Zabuza asked, bringing the kunai closer to the mans neck, tracing it over the skin. A thin line of blood formed and began slowly dripping down.

"No! You can't! You wouldn't!" Gatou said, panicking. He had to get away, he knew Zabuza was crazy, but would he really kill the man that had hired him?

"Why not Gatou? You hired me to kill Tazuna, an innocent man, yet you think it's unfair that I'm about to kill you. You're a bit of a hypocrite, don't you think? Although...you aren't so innocent." Zabuza asked.

"What the hell made you change your mind?" Gatou asked.

He grabbed Gatou's arm and twisted it backwards, into a position that was humanly impossible, before ripping it off. Gatou screamed as blood sprayed out of the empty socket and spewed all over the place. Gatou, as well as Zabuza, were soon covered in fresh blood.

Gatou screamed in pain and pure agony as Zabuza continued his torture. He thrust the kunai into his rib cage and twisted it several times before pulling it out. Gatou's white shirt was covered in blood.

Taking the kunai, Zabuza brought his hand up to Gatou's neck and pressed deeply, breaking the skin. He quickly ran it across the man's neck, and Gatou fell forward, dead.

"Innocence made me change my mind." Zabuza said, answering Gatou's previous question.

"Now, to find Naruto's team." Zabuza said to himself as he performed hand signs and disappeared.

**XOXOXO**

Naruto lay on the couch, worried about the safety of Kakashi, Sakura, Tazuna, and Sasuke. He worried so much about Sasuke. Naruto didn't like the way Zabuza had talked, it sounded as though he was going to kill Sasuke!

"Naruto, do you want some…" Haku never finished his sentence, as his eyes wandered to the door, where Zabuza was currently standing, covered in blood. Naruto who realized Haku was staring at something, decided to look over to the door. At the sight, Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"NO! You killed Sasuke didn't you? NO, NO, NO!" Naruto yelled out, standing up and running over to Zabuza, full intention of attacking him, as he got close, Zabuza grabbed his fist and held it firmly in his hand, not allowing the young boy to escape.

"NO! Bring him back!" Naruto yelled out, his legs becoming wobbly. He sniffed as he felt tears fall out of his eyes, down his cheeks, and onto the floor below. Slowly, he felt himself slide down onto the floor, until he was kneeling.

"Naruto, you do know it's impossible to bring back someone from the dead right?" Zabuza asked, causing Naruto to cry louder. Sasuke couldn't be dead! He just couldn't!

"No…I love him…why would you kill him?"

"Zabuza…" Haku said slowly. He was unsure what to even say to the man. He could feel his own heart break as he watched Naruto mourn the death of Sasuke.

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><p>Hmm, someone asked if this follows the dialogue from the series. No. It doesn't. It's different. The same person also asked if this will follow the actual series. No, it won't. Well, the Chuunin exams will be next, which will also be very different, but after that it will be compleltly different from the actual series. Will this be a long story? Yeah, kind of.<p>

Wow, you all seem to want Naruto to stay with Zabuza and Haku! Awww, but he wouldn't want to leave Sasuke!


	11. Changes

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto and do not make a profit out of the writing of this fanfiction

Again, thanks to my beta 'andwhatyousaid' for being so wonderful!

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><p>"<em>Zabuza…" Haku said slowly. He was unsure what to even say to the man. He could feel his own heart break as he watched Naruto mourn the death of his love.<em>

"Naruto, you're a shinobi, you should be used to death by now. If you want to be a good shinobi, you need experience in death. You have to know that the world is a cruel place, a place where people die. A place where your loved ones die." Zabuza said, looking down at the sobbing boy. He pulled Naruto's forehead protector out of his pocket and let it drop to the floor beside him. It clattered and bounced once, before hitting the floor and laying still by Naruto's feet.

"Zabuza, how could you do that to him? He loves Sasuke so much, yet you killed him! Why? Didn't he rub off on you a little? Look at him! How could he have not changed you at all?" Haku questioned. He knew Zabuza was cruel, and he knew Zabuza could kill anyone with one swipe of his sword, but Naruto had rubbed off a bit on Haku and helped him understand some things. Naruto helped Haku understand exactly why he loved Zabuza. Haku thought that something similar might have happened for Zabuza.

"Sasuke…I want Sasuke…" Naruto cried out.

"Shut the hell up dobe and stop crying! I'm right here!" Sasuke snapped, and Naruto stared wide-eyed at the boy that was leaning against the door frame.

**Flashback: A Few Hours Earlier**

"Now, to find Naruto's team." Zabuza said to himself as he performed hand signs and disappeared.

"Kakashi-sensei! Where are we going? What if Zabuza comes back again? Are you sure you're strong enough and well-healed?" Sakura asked as Kakashi stopped in his tracks, he was looking around, as if something or someone was near. Suddenly, a thin layer of mist covered the area, a few feet away; a figure could be seen, holding a long sword. They knew it was Zabuza instantly.

"Zabuza!" Sakura whispered, taking a small step back in fear.

Within seconds, Zabuza ran forward and pushed Sakura to the ground, grabbing Naruto's forehead protector that she held so tenderly. She screamed when it was torn from her hands, and at the sight of Zabuza covered in blood, she became worried.

"Where is he! What have you done to Naruto-chan?" Sakura stood up, shouting at the older man. A sudden wave of confidence rushed through her.

"Are you willing to fight me, girl? Even though you know I can kill you so easily? Are you willing to lose your life in order to save that boy?" Zabuza questioned.

Sakura realized what it was to be a ninja. There would be more times like this. Times when her teammates' lives were at stake – times when she'd have to choose between her own life and her teammates' lives. It was a difficult time for a ninja, but it was going to happen sooner or later. She knew she'd have to deal with it.

Sakura clenched her fist and took a few steps forward. She stood a few feet in front of Kakashi and Sasuke, who both stared at her in shock as they listened to her speak.

"I don't care….I don't care if I die, as long as I can protect him!" Sakura yelled out.

"Oh, I see. But how do you know I didn't kill him yet? How do you know that this blood upon my body isn't his?" Zabuza asked, and Sakura gasped. No! He couldn't, he wouldn't!

"NO!" Sakura yelled out in disbelief. Naruto couldn't be dead. There was no way. Zabuza wouldn't have kidnapped Naruto just to kill him! It had to be someone else's blood, it just had to be! But, for some reason, she didn't feel too sure of herself. Not with the way Zabuza was acting.

"You clearly don't know me as well as you think you do Sakura." Zabuza said, causing Sakura to clench her fists tighter. Her nails dug into her skin, drawing blood. Zabuza almost smirked as he saw the blood drip down onto the ground.

"Sakura, you're not alone in this. You won't fight alone. I'm here with you. I won't let you or Sasuke die, and we will rescue Naruto." Kakashi reassured as he walked forward to take his place next to Sakura. Together, Kakashi had the feeling that they could beat Zabuza, although, it would be a lot easier if Sasuke had also joined then. Kakashi wasn't sure if Sasuke would risk his life for Naruto.

"You're confident, too, I see, Kakashi. You also think Naruto is still alive?"

Sasuke watched and listened to the conversation they were having. He couldn't believe that so many people cared so much about that stupid kid. He was only a tool. A tool for revenge. Right now, Sasuke needed that tool…so…the only thing he could do now was fight for him.

He walked slowly and stood by Kakashi, ready to fight. One thing was certain; he would not die in order to save Naruto. If it came down to his life or Naruto's...well, Naruto was out of luck.

"I see, so all three of you are willing to get Naruto back? Why is that? Why don't you tell me, Sakura?" Zabuza asked.

"Why? Why do you think! He's our teammate! My friend! I won't let my friends die! Just as Kakashi-sensei said, '_In the world of the ninja, those who violate the rules and laws are called trash. However... those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash._' I thought Naruto was an annoyance at first, but, as I got to know him better, I learned he's just a boy striving for what he believes in. He wants to be noticed, and he wants to feel loved. He's a boy who cares more about others than himself. He's so pure-hearted and kind. I won't let you ruin that!"

If this was a situation where their lives weren't at stake, Kakashi would have smiled at what Sakura said. He was proud of his student.

"Hmm, and Sasuke, what about you? When will you come to terms with your feelings? Naruto's just a tool isn't he? A tool for your revenge? You know him more then anyone, yet you refuse to see how intelligent he is. You refuse to see how much of an impact he can make on other people. You refuse to admit of much you ca-"

"Enough talking!" Sakura yelled out. She was sick of hearing him speak! She wanted to fight and get it all over with so that they could go and rescue Naruto!

"Yes Sakura, I'm done for now. We'll go see Tazuna quickly, and then I'll take you to Naruto." Zabuza said.

"Wh…what are you talking about?" Sakura stuttered in shocked. Did she hear Zabuza speak correctly? Was he going to take them to Naruto?

"I'll take you to him, after we see Tazuna first. Did I not make myself clear enough?" Zabuza asked. Was this girl stupid or something?

"How…the blood…"

"It's not his. Naruto is perfectly safe back with Haku. This blood is Gatou's. I've killed him."

"Why? He hired you! Why the hell would you kill the one who hired you?" Sasuke asked, shocked.

"All because of Naruto."  
><strong><br>****End Flashback**

"Sasuke! It's you! It's really you!" Naruto shouted in glee as he stood up and ran to the older boy, wrapping his arms around his neck and embracing him tightly. He nuzzled his face into the older boy's chest, not caring if the tears were getting Sasuke's shirt wet. He missed Sasuke so much! He had thought he was dead! Yet here he was! Very much alive!

Sasuke stood there and let the younger boy hug him. He wasn't going to hug him back, because he hadn't missed Naruto, but he wasn't going to pull away either, because he didn't want to deal with Naruto's annoying crying. So, for now, he just let the younger boy hug him.

"Zabuza, I don't understand." Haku said.

Sakura and Kakashi walked into the room, completely unharmed. "Naruto-chan! You're okay!" Sakura said as she gently pulled Naruto out of Sasuke's arms and hugged him tightly, before letting go and pulling back.

"Yeah Sakura-chan! I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?"

"That's good to hear, Naruto." Kakashi said, ruffling Naruto's hair gently, smiling warmly down at the boy.

"But, I don't understand! How are you all here? Did Zabuza capture you too?" Naruto asked. But no one was injured at all. Sure, Zabuza was covered in blood, but he was unharmed.

"No, he brought us to you, Naruto. It seems as though, because of you, Zabuza has switched sides." Kakashi told him.

"Switched sides? How so?"

"I killed Gatou, so Tazuna is safe now, all thanks to you, brat." Zabuza said, directed at Naruto.

"Wh…I don't…" Naruto mumbled. He didn't know what was going on. Zabuza killed Gatou? Tazuna was safe now? And it was all because of him?

"You have a way with words, Naruto. You've seen so much for your age. It's amazing you've stayed so innocent and untainted. I suppose, I should thank you." Zabuza stated.

"Thank me? No! Don't thank me! I didn't really do anything, I was just myself!"

"Precisely, Naruto. Precisely."

**XOXOXO**

"I can't thank you enough. All of you, you all really helped us out a lot. With Gatou gone, my men and I can finally finish this job in peace, with no worries." Tazuna said, talking to Team 7, Zabuza, and Haku.

"So, I guess this really did turn out to be a C-class mission after all, right Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, turning to her teacher. In the end, there was no real threat. All because Zabuza and Haku switched sides.

"Yes, I guess so, Sakura."

"Ah! By the way, since it's basically all thanks to Naruto, we're calling our bridge '_The Great Naruto Bridge._'" Tazuna announced, turning to Naruto.

"EH! Really? A bridge? Named after me!" Naruto yelled out, obviously very excited.

Sakura smiled at this. Naruto was back to himself, acting as though nothing had happened at all.

"So, this is goodbye then?" Naruto asked sadly. Sasuke stood a few feet behind him, while Sakura and Kakashi stood by his side. Kakashi was lazily reading Icha Icha Paradise, while Sakura was standing up straight, silently listening.

"Only for now Naruto-kun, we'll meet again. I don't think we can stay apart for long. Not after you changed our lives so much." Haku reassured, smiling.

"What will you do, though?" Sakura asked. Zabuza was a missing-nin, and a dangerous one at that. It wasn't as though they could just waltz back to Kirigakure, because, most likely, they wouldn't face any type of trial – they would just immediately be sentenced to death.

"We don't know yet. For now, we'll travel." Zabuza said, finally speaking up.

"Good luck! I'm sure you'll find somewhere that you can live happily!" Naruto said cheerfully. He held no grudge towards Zabuza or Haku. Nothing at all. In fact, he was happy. Happy that they had changed. Happy that they were on their side. Happy that he made two new friends.

Happy, most of all, because he was back together with Sasuke.

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><p>Aww, Naruto is happy to be with Sasuke again. Zabuza and Haku will eventually show up again too! Sorry for all those who thought there would be an awesome fight scene between them all. Naruto can sure change people!<p> 


	12. Goals

Thanks to my lovely beta 'andwhatyousaid'!

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><p>It had been over a week since the incident with Zabuza and Haku, and everything had gone back to normal. Team 7 went back to doing D-class missions and an occasional C-class, which included planting, cleaning, babysitting (which Sasuke <em>really<em>hated), and catching a missing-nin. It was seemingly normal to anyone who took a small glance at the team. Of course, though, nothing was as it seemed. Sasuke had returned to his usual, cold self, while Naruto was as hyperactive as ever, and Sakura was left once more with trying to figure out what was up between her teammates.

On top of everything, Kakashi seemed to be planning something behind their backs. Neither Naruto, Sakura, nor Sasuke had the slightest clue what it was, but they knew it was big. Kakashi kept showing up for their meetings on time, which was by far not a normal thing on his behalf. He often had a knowing gleam in his eye, and seemed to be smiling at his team a lot more than usual. All they could piece together, was that they were going to find out very soon, and they couldn't wait.

The clock's bright orange glare read 2:47 AM when Naruto sat up quickly from his bed, drenched in sweat and panting. He just had a nightmare that Sasuke had died. The dream had felt so vivid and real. He was so relieved to have woken up and realize that it was only a dream. Still, he couldn't stop shaking.

He wouldn't know what to do if Sasuke died. All Naruto ever did was think about Sasuke. If Sasuke did die, Naruto would die with him. He wouldn't be able to go on without standing by Sasuke's side, without helping him get through life, without helping Sasuke fulfill his ambition to kill Itachi. He wanted to be by Sasuke's side forever, it didn't matter how or as what, just as long as he was next to Sasuke.

Sighing gently, Naruto pulled the covers off his small body and got out of his bed. He stood up, placing his bare feet on the cold floor. He didn't want to be alone tonight – no, he _couldn't_be alone tonight. He had been having nightmares regularly since they all returned from their mission. He was still a little shaky about losing Sasuke, so Naruto followed Sasuke around more than usual. In fact, he followed Sasuke wherever he went and would not leave his side until Sasuke retired to his room. Sasuke was happy to get away from clingy Naruto and go to sleep.

Naruto remembered when he was younger that Itachi would let Naruto sleep with him if Naruto ever had any nightmares. Sasuke did the same thing. However, since their family had been murdered, Naruto never tried to sleep with Sasuke again for fear of angering the older boy. He hated when Sasuke was angry. He only wanted Sasuke to be happy. He wanted Sasuke to smile again.

Walking slowly and cautiously over to Sasuke's room, Naruto opened the door and entered. He closed it soundlessly behind him. He was as quiet as possible, but he knew Sasuke would wake up; Sasuke was a very light sleeper. Naruto learned early on that the smallest things woke Sasuke up. He remembered being five years old and trying to sneak into Sasuke's room because he had a nightmare. Then, Sasuke was already awake before Naruto even reached the bed, concerned and asking Naruto what was wrong.

Now, Sasuke's clothed back was to Naruto. Sasuke's body was covered with blankets up to his shoulders. Naruto could see Sasuke breathing slowly and steadily. It made him happy to see Sasuke breathe. It meant Sasuke was very much alive and well. It meant Naruto's dream was only a nightmare.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his voice gruff and annoyed, obviously angry that Naruto interrupted his peaceful slumber. He didn't turn to face Naruto, or make any movement at all. Instead, Sasuke laid there, waiting for Naruto to reply to his question.

"Ca…can I sleep with you tonight Sasuke-san? Please?" Naruto stuttered, pleading to the older boy. He walked over to the bed and reached out for Sasuke's shoulder. However, before he could even touch it, Sasuke spoke up."Why?" His voice held some curiosity, but most of all, anger and annoyance.

"I…I missed you Sasuke. I thought you were dead. I just want to assure myself that you're alive," Naruto replied. Why did Sasuke have to ask him? Couldn't he just say yes and do it? Was it so hard to do? Why did Sasuke always have to question everything Naruto did?

"Well Naruto, I am, in fact, very much alive. You don't need any proof since I'm breathing and talking to you. So, go away. Go back to your room and go to sleep. I don't want to hear you complaining if you're tired at training tomorrow," Sasuke said.

Naruto let his arm fall slack. He felt like crying.

After hearing only silence for a few moments, Sasuke realized that Naruto still didn't leave and Naruto probably wouldn't leave until Sasuke agreed to let him stay.

"Fine, Naruto. But, don't make this another one of your stupid habits," Sasuke said as he shifted in his large bed, now facing the younger boy. Naruto practically jumped onto the bed, throwing himself in Sasuke's arms.

"Tch, dobe…" Sasuke murmured as he wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and back, pulling him against his chest. Sasuke really didn't want to do this, but it would be better than hearing Naruto whine all day tomorrow. Sasuke hated when Naruto whined.

Naruto smiled as Sasuke pulled him against his chest. The older boy was so warm and strong; it made Naruto feel so safe in his arms. He moved his head directly under Sasuke's chin, their bodies fitting perfectly together. Naruto nuzzled into Sasuke's chest and shifted his ear so that he could hear the older boy's heartbeat, hear that he's very much alive. He let the gentle sound lull him into a very peaceful sleep.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Wake up, moron!" A voice snapped loudly in annoyance and the warmth Naruto felt all night was suddenly gone. He opened his eyes slowly to see that Sasuke wasn't in bed with him anymore. Instead, Sasuke was standing up, getting dressed in his normal outfit that he wore daily. He was facing Naruto, waiting for the blond-haired boy to wake up.

"Hmm, what is it Sasuke-san?" Naruto asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes slowly. He looked over to Sasuke, who was now fully dressed and scowling at Naruto.

"Get up! Go get dressed. We have training today, remember? I'd rather not be late, even though Kakashi always is," Sasuke said, shaking his head and quickly leaving the room. Naruto figured that Sasuke was most likely getting something to eat before training began.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Kakashi-sensei, how is everything going with their training? Oh, and how's Naruto? I haven't seen him since you four left on your mission. Did the mission go well for their first C-class?" Iruka asked as he met Kakashi for breakfast.

Iruka had to go to the Academy in an hour and Kakashi had told his team to meet him in half an hour, which meant Kakashi had about three hours to kill.

"Yes, the mission went very well, and they're all fine, as well as Naruto," Kakashi said, deciding to omit the fact that Naruto was kidnapped by a dangerous missing-nin and then let go because he miraculously changed him. Oh yes, Iruka would have a fit at that, especially if Kakashi went into details. Then again, Iruka should know how brave Naruto was and how much of an impact Naruto can have on even the coldest of people. But, it wasn't worth the risk.

Thinking about Naruto's bravery, Kakashi once more wondered what would have happened if he did adopt Naruto. How would everything have changed? Would Naruto be the same child he was today? Or would he be less hyper and more serious?

"That's good to hear, I'm hoping he'll come with me tonight for some ramen. Then again, I shouldn't have to hope he'll come. Naruto wouldn't say no, since he loves the stuff so much." Iruka joked, not being able to see what Kakashi was feeling.

Iruka had grown used to the fact that Naruto wanted to stay with Sasuke. Kakashi could have laughed at the irony if the situation wasn't so serious. At first, Iruka was worried about leaving Naruto with Sasuke, but Kakashi convinced him to change his mind, and now it was Kakashi who wanted to take Naruto away from Sasuke. Kakashi felt like such a hypocrite, but he didn't like how anything was going. Naruto seemed to be slowly, very slowly, drifting away from Sasuke. Naruto was making friends, while Sasuke was staying behind. What would happen when Sasuke saw that Naruto was drifting away? Would he hurt Naruto even more? How far would he go to keep Naruto by his side? To keep him as his tool? And when Sasuke was done with the blond, what would become of Naruto? Would Sasuke just toss him aside and pretend he never existed? That would definitely break Naruto's heart in more ways than one.

"Yes, he'll definitely say yes, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi agreed. 'As long as Sasuke lets him, that is.'

**XOXOXOXO**

Looking at Haruno Sakura, one would think her life was perfect. When she was in the Academy, she had good grades. She was smart, cute, and on the same team as the heart-throb rookie of the year, Uchiha Sasuke, which was what every girl had wanted.

However, anyone who thought her life was perfect was very wrong.

Her parents were not ninjas, yet she begged them to let her enter the Academy and they did. They had thought, 'She'll hate it and back out because she won't be able to handle the pressure; she isn't strong enough.' They were surprised when she graduated. They didn't do anything special for her, though. He father said a simple, "Congratulations," before going about to do his daily work. Her mother looked down upon her, but it was only because she was worried that she would lose her only daughter. Sakura made it her goal to get her parents respect.

Haruno Sakura also met a girl named Yamanaka Ino, in her pre-Academy years. They had been the best of friends, but Sakura declared Ino her rival when she found out that Ino liked the same boy, Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura had felt as though she loved Sasuke. As she grew older and got to know him better when they were on the same team, she realized how stupid she had been. She was stupid for breaking her friendship off with her best friend because of a silly crush. She felt stupid, especially because she never even really knew Sasuke when she had 'fallen in love' with him. She slowly got over her crush as she watched Naruto and the way Sasuke treated Naruto. Sakura began to realize that Sasuke wasn't how all the girls thought he was. Sure, he was good looking, smart, and strong. But, the thing everyone over looked was how cruel Sasuke was.

That was when Sakura stopped crushing on Sasuke and began to see him as only a friend – a friend that she'd like to somehow help. Sakura didn't know his whole history, but she promised herself that she would find out. She'd help him become happy as best she could.

Naruto was a whole other issue. He was hyper active, clumsy, stupid at times, and played pranks on people. However, Sakura realized that Naruto was yearning for love. Naruto was a very sweet person and a loyal friend who would do anything to keep his precious people safe. Moreover, that's why Sakura wanted him to be happy and loved, even more so than Sasuke. Many people shunned Naruto. Sakura never understood why.

All Sakura knew was that she would make those two boys as happy as possible. She was going to make it her goal.

Her real goal.

**XOXOXOXO**

"It looks like Kakashi-sensei is back to being late again, huh." Naruto pondered lazily as he leaned against a banister.

"Oh, come on, Naruto-chan! You know that on-time streak wasn't bound to last." Sakura responded.

'Naruto-chan? Since when did she start calling him that?' Sasuke wondered. It must have been during their mission, but Sasuke never noticed the sudden change. Sasuke also wondered why anyone would want to add such an affectionate suffix to Naruto's name.

"I guess you're right, Sakura-chan. We've already been here for thirty minutes. I guess that means we'll be waiting here for about three hours. It was nice while it lasted, I guess." Naruto said as he sat down against the banister, figuring he might as well get comfortable. Within seconds, Kakashi appeared, smiling down at this team that seemed to be shocked at the fact that he was 'early.'

"Oi, sorry I'm late, but I came here to tell you that training is canceled today. I have a meeting with the Hokage and other sensei's. Same time tomorrow, ja!" Kakashi said as he poofed away. Both Sakura and Naruto blinked once, twice, and looked at each other. It sounded too real to be a lie, and he was gone before they were able to reply.

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispered to herself.

"Oi, oi! Why don't we go have lunch at Ichiraku?" Naruto asked as he turned to Sakura and Sasuke. He always made up some sort of excuse to get ramen.

"Hn, whatever." Sasuke shrugged as he began to walk in the direction of Ichiraku. Sakura and Naruto exchanged looks before they began to follow them.

"I wonder what's going on," Naruto pondered as the three of them walked over to Ichiraku for ramen.

"Hmm, I don't know Naruto-chan. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will tell us, eventually. I'm sure of it!" Sakura exclaimed as she thrust her fist into the air.

They sat in complete silence (with the exception of Naruto's loud slurping) all the way through their lunch. Sakura kept sneaking glances at both Sasuke and Naruto. She realized that Sasuke kept glaring at Naruto when he slurped, as if wanted to say something but wasn't able to.

"Well, I'm going to go help my mom with chores. She's wanted me to help her for a while. I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-chan," She said as she stood up, leaving the money for her food on the counter.

"Bye, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved happily, although, he wished she would have stayed a bit longer. He enjoyed spending time with her.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's go home," Sasuke stated as he paid for both his and Naruto's meals, and stood up.

"Sasuke-san, I want to go train." Naruto said, standing up as well.

"Fine, but you're coming home first. I have some things to say to you." Sasuke said as he began walking. Naruto stood in silence for a few moments before catching up to him, wondering what Sasuke wanted to talk to him about.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Nnn, Sasuke-san! Stop! What did I do?" Naruto cried as he was shoved against the closed door to their house, his elbow hitting the doorknob painfully, causing him to wince.

"Don't you dare tell me to stop! You're so worthless, Naruto!" He barked as he pushed Naruto against the wall again, harsher this time. He grabbed Naruto by his hair tightly, forcing the younger boy to look directly into his eyes, which suddenly turned blood red, into the Sharingan.

"Sasuke-san! The Sharingan! You have them…but, how? When?" Naruto asked, shocked. Sasuke hadn't had those eyes when they had been on missions and they trained together most of the time.

"It doesn't matter, Naruto, because I have them now." Sasuke said, smirking, tightening his hold on Naruto's hair.

"What did I do, Sasuke-san?" Naruto questioned, closing his eyes. He couldn't stand to see the anger and hatred in the older boy's eyes. Not to mention the Sharingan scared Naruto a bit; it reminded him of Itachi.

"Look at me, Naruto! Are you afraid of me, you damn scaredy cat?" Sasuke asked as he grasped Naruto's chin, forcing him to open his eyes.

"Sas-" Naruto began, but was cut off as Sasuke slapped him. The back of Sasuke's right hand hit Naruto's cheek harshly.

"Did I tell you to speak Naruto?" Sasuke asked, grabbing Naruto's chin again, bringing his face close to Naruto's, so their lips almost touched.

'His eyes have always been so...' Sasuke's thoughts trailed off, forgetting what he was thinking about.

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto said slowly.

Sasuke hungrily placed his lips upon Naruto's quickly. Then he suddenly pulled away, as if realizing what he was doing – almost as if realizing what he was doing was completely wrong.

"You want to go training, right, Naruto? Then go, get out of here. Get out of my sight," Sasuke said, clearing his throat as he walked away, leaving Naruto up against the wall, surprised. Naruto touched his fingers to his lips, not really believing what had just happened.

'His voice is changing a little…that's weird.' Naruto thought to himself he walked over to the door. Naruto doesn't think about anything else (especially not how his lips feel weird and tingly) except for his training, which was exactly what he is going to do.

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><p>Hope you're all enjoying this so far! Thanks for all the alerts and favorites! I'd love for you all to tell me how this is going! Especially people who read this and don't review :b<p>

Also, feel free to suggest things for the plot that you'd like to see! Side pairings, ideas for interactions, etc. I may add it in if it fits!


	13. Gaara

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto and I make no money out of the writing of this fanfiction.

A huge thanks to 'andwhatyousaid' for beta-ing!

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><p>"Kakashi-sensei, do you have any students that you believe will be ready to enter the Chuunin exams?" The Hokage asked. All the current Jounin sensei's were standing together. The Chuunin exams were starting in one week and the Hokage was asking them all if any of their students qualified.<p>

"Under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate my students; Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto to take the Chuunin selection exam." Kakashi stated. Kurenai, Team 8's sensei, and Asuma, Team 10's sensei, did the same. All of the students were rookies.

"Kakashi-sensei, please reconsider! Hokage, please! They were my students at the Academy, all nine of them. They can't let them enter so soon!" Iruka pleaded, interrupting the Hokage before he was even able to begin to speak.

"Reconsider? They're always talking about how easy their missions are, so why not allow them to enter the Chuunin exams?" Kakashi asked.

"Is this some sort of game to you? Do you want them to be crushed?" Iruka questioned.

"They are my students now, Iruka-sensei. Stay out of it," Kakashi stated crudely.

"Hokage, please!" Iruka begged, worrying on the behalf of his ex-students.

"I'm sorry Iruka, but it's up to Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma to decide who enters the Chuunin exams. There have been plenty of Genins who have become Chuunin well before the age of the children you are speaking of."

"Yes, Iruka-sensei, let the games begin." Kakashi grinned.

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

It was around six o'clock when Naruto had finished his training and he was starving. He decided to go eat ramen. What else would he eat? On his way there, however, he ran into an interesting person that he had never seen before.

Naruto blinked as he laid his eyes on the certain individual. The boy was sitting against a tree, looking forward. He had crimson red hair and piercing green eyes. He also had a tattoo on the left side of his forehead that was the kanji for "love." He wore a huge gourd on his back that looked to be made out of sand. But, the strangest thing was that he wore a different forehead protector, which was attached to the strap of his gourd. The forehead protector was from Sunagakure. The hidden Sand village.

"Umm, hello." Naruto greeted , approaching the boy who was sitting against the tree. The boy turned his attention to Naruto.

"What do you want?" The boy asked. Naruto would have cringed at the coldness in his voice, but he was used to Sasuke talking like that, so it didn't affect him at all.

"Well, I just wanted to know what you were doing here. This is Konoha, and you're from Suna. Are you on some sort of mission?" Naruto asked, his voice laced with utter curiosity.

'What's wrong with this kid? Why doesn't he fear me? Or act strange at my tone? ...He's…not normal.' The boy thought.

"You don't know why I'm here? And you're village is hosting it too." He said.

"Huh? Hosting what?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Never mind, I'm sure it doesn't matter, since you're too weak to be entered anyway."

"WEAK! I'm not weak! OI! Don't leave! I'm talking to you! What are you talking about?" Naruto asked as the boy stood up, as if to make his leave.

"Hmm, you're an interesting individual, and there's something about you that reminds me of myself. I'd like to know your name." The red-haired boy stated.

"Uzumaki Naruto, don't forget it!" Naruto replied.

"I am Gaara of the Sand. I shall see you soon, Uzumaki," Gaara said as sand covered his body and he suddenly disappeared.

"That was…weird…hmm, I hope I see him again," Naruto said as his stomach made a noise, reminding him that he was still very hungry.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Why did we have to come here so early? The exams aren't for another week," A girl complained. She had spiky blond hair pulled back into four ponytails. She wore a very light lavender kimono-like outfit with a red sash around her waist. On her left leg she wore fishnets on her thigh, and on her right leg she wore fishnets underneath her knee, leading down to her ankle. Around her neck, hung a Suna forehead protector.

"Temari…It's what Gaara wanted, do you really want to go against him and suffer the consequences?" A boy asked. He wore black pants and a black shirt with a symbol on the front. He also wore black finger-less gloves. On his head, he wore some sort of hood, with pointy things on the top that made it look like he had cat ears. He had strange purple markings on his face, and wore a Suna forehead protector on his forehead.

"I guess you're right, Kankuro. Speaking of the little brat, where is he?" The blonde asked as she sat down next to her younger brother. Temari was the oldest, followed by Kankuro, and Gaara was the youngest. The three of them were the children of the Kazekage.

"No clue, he's been out for a while." Kankuro responded, sort of happy that his brother wasn't around.

"What did I tell you about talking about me behind my back?" Gaara asked as he entered the room. It was the room they'd be staying in during there time in Konoha. It was similar to a hotel room, but included a combined kitchen and small living room.

"Ga…Gaara! We weren't talking about you! We were just wondering where you were!" Kankuro answered, seemingly frightened.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you, Kankuro," Gaara stated.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Stop fighting, both of you!" She said, hoping to stop Gaara from tearing Kankuro apart.

"Yes, well, I'm going to sleep." Kankuro said, and stood up, trying his best to ignore his younger brothers eyes as they followed him all the way to his bedroom.

**XOXOXOXO**

It had been four days since Gaara had been in Konoha, and two days since he met the petite, young blond boy that went by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. For reasons unknown, Gaara was infatuated with him. He watched the young blond all day for the past two days. He made sure no one saw him, of course. While watching him, Gaara also learned a few interesting facts about him.

Naruto loved ramen. _It was the only thing Gaara saw Naruto eat._

Naruto wrote in a journal. _Gaara didn't call it a diary, either. That would make it sound too girly. And Gaara was far from girly_.

Naruto had a necklace that he was trying to hide from someone. _He hid it with his journal underneath a loose floorboard in his room._

Naruto lived with the rookie of the year, Uchiha Sasuke. _Although, Gaara had no clue why Naruto lived with Sasuke. _

Naruto really loved Sasuke, despite what the raven haired boy did to him. _Or at least, that's what Gaara assumed love was._

All Gaara did was watch Naruto for two days, but that was all it took to find out what Sasuke was doing to him. It also answered Gaara's earlier question of 'why isn't he afraid of me?' Sasuke was abusive towards Naruto. Not very physically abusive all the time. No, the physical abuse only happened on occasion, Gaara assumed, although he did see Sasuke slap Naruto once, and for some reason, it made Gaara very mad. However, more then anything else, Sasuke was very mentally abusive towards the young boy.

Gaara also noticed the look of hatred that Naruto earned from some villagers when he walked through the streets. It had taken Gaara only one time to get the answer out of Baki-sensei because the man was too afraid of Gaara to deny him anything, especially a question that had a simple answer. An answer to which Gaara was, needless to say, shocked.

Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. The nine-tailed Kitsune.

Gaara found it very interesting and it added to his obsession with the boy. Although, he didn't realize it was an obsession. He really didn't understand why he watched Naruto. In the end, he concluded it was because he was bored.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

In Naruto's room, there was a window and a door that led out to a small balcony, where Naruto spent some nights, gazing at the sky, searching for a shooting star so he could make a wish. He sometimes found one and made small wishes. He wished for Sasuke's happiness and for things to be how they used to. He would wish for Sasuke to love him as he used to. It was useless, though, because Naruto believed Sasuke would never love him again.

In the dead of night, Gaara found himself on the Uchiha compound, standing outside the balcony, at the open door, watching Naruto sleep. Naruto's still form was facing the door. If Naruto opened his eyes, he would be staring directly at Gaara and he would most likely be terrified at the fact that this strange boy was watching him sleep.

As if Naruto could _feel _Gaara's deep gaze seeping through him, he opened his eyes.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Iruka, they're going to do fine," Kakashi said, trying to comfort the Chuunin. He cared for Iruka; he wouldn't deny that. However, he never really showed it in public. He did occasionally hug him, but the brown-haired man never saw it as anything further than friendship. Was that truly it?

"No! Don't give me that, Kakashi! They're rookies. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Iruka argued. He was still shocked that Kakashi was going to let them enter.

"Of course it does. You haven't been with them since they left the Academy. You don't know how well they've been doing. You don't know how far they've gotten, how much they've advanced. Remember, I was six when I became a Chuunin," Kakashi told him.

"But Kakash-" Iruka began, but Kakashi cut him off, not wanting to hear anymore. He didn't want his friend to doubt him. He knew Team 7 was ready to take the Chuunin exams.

"If you doubt me, check for yourself." Kakashi replied.

"Check, for myself? What do you mean by that Kakashi?" But Iruka never received his answer, because Kakashi had disappeared.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Before Naruto could make a sound, or even move, Gaara was straddling him, holding his hand to the other boy's mouth tightly, so he wouldn't scream.

"Don't scream, Naruto." He was going to add '_or I'll kill you_' to his sentence, but felt it wasn't important. For some reason, he felt no need to kill this boy, which was new to him. Gaara would kill anyone without a second thought.

Naruto nodded his head a few times, and Gaara pulled his hand away.

"You!" Naruto pointed at him, "What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, moving himself backwards so he was leaning against the backboard of his bed.

"Watching you sleep" Gaara replied, as if watching someone sleep was the most normal thing in the world. He never had any reason to lie to anyone. If a certain person didn't like what he said, he would just kill them. It was a lot easier than listening to people try to reason with him.

"Err, okay, Gaara, that's a little strange, and creepy too. But, why?" Naruto pondered.

Gaara was stumped. He really didn't know why he was watching Naruto. He felt…intrigued by him, and he knew that the young blond must have been through similar types of the pain he went through, seeing as though he was also a jinchuuriki. "There is no need for me to answer that," Gaara replied.

Naruto shrugged. "Okay Gaara… Umm, why aren't you sleeping, though? It's late! Aren't you tired?" He asked, yawning, as if to prove his point.

"I can't sleep."

"Oh! That happens to me too, all you need to do is-"

"No, Naruto, nothing will help me. I don't sleep, because of this thing I have inside me," Gaara said. He wanted to tell Naruto that he was the Jinchuuriki of the one-tailed beast Shukaku. He wanted to get close to this boy. He needed to share his pain with someone, and Naruto knew exactly how he felt, so Naruto was perfect.

"Thing? What thing?" Naruto questioned, confused.

"Shukaku. The one-tailed beast."

Naruto wasn't completely sure what Gaara meant. He knew he had Kyuubi, the nine-tailed Kitsune sealed inside himself. And if Gaara had a one-tailed demon, did that mean there were more people like himself?

"Umm, Gaara, what do you mean exactly? Are there more people with demons sealed inside them?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, nine in all. And I know you have Kyuubi, right?" Naruto was a little surprised at this. Only the older people in Konoha knew about the Kyuubi, and here was this boy, a little older than him, from a completely different village, who knew about the Kyuubi!

"How…how'd you know that?" Naruto stuttered.

"I have my ways," Gaara answered, standing up and walking over to the window.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked, not wanting the boy to go.

"Back to my hotel. Goodnight, Naruto," Gaara said.

"Wait! Gaara!" He called out, and Gaara turned to look at him.

"Yes?"

"Can we be…friends?" Naruto asked shyly. To Naruto, it was a simple question, but to Gaara, it meant everything. He tensed up for a moment before he almost smiled.

"Yes, Naruto. We can be friends." With that, Gaara was gone, leaving Naruto to fall back into the peaceful sleep he was in before Gaara had woken him up.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

The Chuunin exams were in two days and Iruka still hadn't figured out how to test his former students to see if they were ready to enter the exams. Kakashi was going to tell his team about the exams today, and there was no way to get them out of it once they signed the papers. It was almost as if they were going to sign their lives away.

"Oh! I've got it!" Iruka thought. He only had about four hours to complete his plan before Kakashi got to them.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Gaara!" Naruto called out as he ran towards the other boy. They had met a few times since that fateful night in Naruto's room.

"Hello, Naruto," Gaara greeted, holding out something in his hand. Naruto didn't have to look twice to know what it was. Naruto took the sealed cup of instant ramen from Gaara's hand.

"Eh?"

"You like ramen, don't you?" Gaara asked.

"Of course! Thanks, Gaara!" Naruto shouted happily, throwing his arms around Gaara in a hug.

Gaara looked at the boy strangely, wondering why he had his arms around his mid-section. He tensed up, not used to anyone touching him, nor the warmth of another human. Within a few seconds, Naruto pulled away.

"Eh? What's wrong, Gaara?" Naruto asked, noticing his friend's skeptical look.

"Why did you do that?" Gaara asked.

"Hug you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, what is a hug?"

"It's a way of saying thanks! Friends do it! So do people who love each other. Or, if you haven't seen someone in a while. It's also a way of saying you care for a person. Do you not want me to do it again?" Naruto asked, a tiny bit of sadness laced in his speech.

"No, it's okay. You can hug me if you want," Gaara said. He had never received a hug from anyone, and he didn't like being touched. But for some reason, he felt the urge to hug the younger boy back.

Needless to say, a part of Gaara would be looking forward to hugs from Naruto in the future.

* * *

><p>Aww, Gaara, you're so adorable.<p> 


	14. Checks

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

This is the un-betaed version until I get the betaed version back. Enjoy! So sorry for the wait.

* * *

><p>"Bye Gaara! I'll see you soon okay?" Naruto waved goodbye to his new friend as he began his short walk home. The young blond was tired from training and hadn't really seen Sasuke lately, because Sasuke was also busy training. The blue-eyed Genin missed Sasuke and wanted to spend some time with him.<p>

Sasuke clenched his fists in pure rage. He watched as Naruto returned home after his little 'rendezvous' with the red-haired freak from Suna. Sasuke didn't say anything, but he knew of Naruto's new found friendship with the strange sand-user, and he didn't like it at all. When they first met, at the tree, Sasuke decided to leave it alone. Gaara wouldn't want to be friends with someone like Naruto. Sasuke was proven wrong when he saw Gaara give Naruto ramen, and it made him even more mad when he saw Naruto _willingly _embrace Gaara, and Gaara not pull away. Why would Naruto want to take a complete stranger in his arms. Not to mention someone from another village. A village that wasn't exactly on good terms with Konoha.

When Sasuke saw Naruto leave the red-haired shinobi and head towards their home, Sasuke took a shortcut, in order to meet Naruto at home and talk to him about his new found relationship with Gaara.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Sasuke-san? Are you here?" Naruto called out as he opened the front door to his home. It was extremely dark, which was rare, because even when neither of them were home, one of the lights were always left on.

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto called out again, closing the door. He flipped on the light switch, and light illuminated the room. He gasped in slight shock when he saw Sasuke sitting on one of the chairs, hands folded neatly underneath his chin.

"Hello Naruto." Sasuke greeted calmly and casually, but Naruto knew from experience that Sasuke was mad, really mad. The only thing was that Naruto had no clue why Sasuke was mad at him. Unless he knew about Gaara. Either way, it didn't really matter.

"He…hello Sasuke-san! Umm, why were you sitting alone, and in the dark?" Naruto asked, and backed away slightly as Sasuke stood up, and walked over to him slowly, as if trying to prolong something.

"I was waiting for you, moron." Sasuke was still speaking in a casual manner, but there was something in his eyes that told Naruto he was going to strike any moment.

"How come?" Naruto asked, trying to act as casual as possible. He backed up until he fell onto the couch, and Sasuke followed, crawling on top of him, straddling him in order to keep him from moving.

"Tell me Naruto, when did I ever tell you that you could go around with that guy from Suna? He is an enemy remember, so why were you with him? And why did you _hug_him, of all things?" Sasuke questioned, trying to keep himself as calm as possible for now.

"Wh…what are you talking about Sasuke? I was just trying to be nice. Gaara's a nice person anyway, and I hugged him because-" Before Naruto could even finish Sasuke slapped him hard across the face, causing him to go flying off the couch, and crash into the small table that was next to the couch. Under Naruto's weight, it broke, and Naruto fell on his back against the glass and wood.

"Sasuke-" Naruto began, groaning in pain as he sat up, some of the glass shards were sticking to his back. Some had cut through his shirt, causing the blond's back to bleed from the cuts.

"Shut up usuratonkachi! I never said you can be his friend, much less hug him! Haven't I told you," He picked Naruto up by the collar, and forced him to stand up. Naruto would have lost his balance if Sasuke wasn't holding onto him. The raven shoved him against the wall. "that you're to ask me before you go anywhere?"

"I did ask you! I asked if I could go train, and you said yes! I met Gaara along the way. Let me go, I can't breath!" Naruto shouted, bringing his hands to Sasuke's, wincing slightly at the pain in his back. He squirmed against Sasuke, causing the other boy to gasp. Something ran through his body, sending shivers up and down his spine. He had no clue what it was, but all he knew was that he liked the feeling. Naruto must have noticed this, because he stopped his squirming to look up at Sasuke.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, worried for the ravens well-being.

"Did I say you could talk? If yelling and hitting you doesn't work, I'll have to find other ways of shutting you up, eh dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"Eh? What are you talking abo-" Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke pressed his warm lips against Naruto's, who was shocked. Sasuke had kissed him before, and Naruto never really understood what gave Sasuke the sudden urge to kiss him, but despite everything, Naruto liked it. When he felt Sasuke's tongue run along his bottom lip, he gasped, unsure what to do without Sasuke telling him. But Sasuke seemed content as he let his tongue travel into Naruto's mouth, tasting the blond-haired boy. Naruto didn't kiss back, he simply let the older boy ravage his mouth.

"Next time you run in to him_ accidentally_, walk away. I don't want you to be near him Naruto. You better do as I say, unless you want me to kick you out." Sasuke threatened as he pulled back and slapped Naruto, making him crash to the floor again.

"And clean this mess up." Sasuke demanded coldly as he soundlessly left the room.

Naruto lay on the floor, waiting to make sure Sasuke wasn't coming back, before he picked himself up to go to the bathroom to clean any wounds that had formed on his back from the shards of glass and wood.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

_He's been acting strange lately. And he's been touching me a lot more too. I don't really understand why. Something's going on with him and I can't figure it out. His voice is also changing._

_He doesn't want me near Gaara, but I don't want to break the friendship we made. I like Gaara. Maybe I can hang out with him without Sasuke-san knowing. Hmm, but that won't be right, I don't want to sneak around and lie to Sasuke-san. It'll make me feel bad._

_We have to meet Kakashi-sensei tomorrow. He says he has something to tell us. Something really important. Hmm, I wonder what it is…_

_Well, I'm going to get some sleep now. G'night journal!_

**_Naruto_**

**XOXOXOXOXO**

'Hmm, Kakashi-sensei said to meet at 12. It's a little early, so I guess that's why Sasuke-kun and Naruto-chan aren't here yet.' Sakura thought to herself as she looked around. She knew Kakashi was going to be late, and she briefly wondered why she even bothered to show up early.

"Eh? Sasuke-kun, Naruto-chan, is that you?" She yelled out as she saw her teammates walking together somewhere. They both looked at her before turning forward and walking away, ignoring her.

"Wait, guys!" She called out and ran towards them. They were out of sight, but Sakura knew they were just up ahead. They couldn't have gotten away that quickly.

When Sakura finally caught up to them, she was shocked at what she saw. Naruto and Sasuke both laid on the ground, covered in blood, and very much dead.

"NO!" She screamed as she ran up to them. When she got close, she immediately realized something was amiss about their bodies. She narrowed her eyes in anger at the cruel 'joke' someone seemed to be playing on her. In response, she kicked them, and they poofed away. It was only genjutsu.

"When I find out who did this, that person is dead." Sakura smiled evilly, not liking the idea of someone playing tricks on her, and using her friends death as the punchline.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Naruto stepped backwards slightly as Sasuke advanced on him, holding a kunai in his hands, ready to strike. He was on his way to meet Kakashi when Sasuke suddenly appeared, seemingly ready to kill him.

"Tell me something dobe, would you kill me in order to save your own pathetic life?" Sasuke asked, dashing forward, kunai positioned to kill.

"No," Naruto said affirmatively and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Because you're not Sasuke!" He yelled out, successfully blocking the attack that the Sasuke-clone made and kicking it in the stomach, causing it to disappear. With that done, Naruto went along on his merrily way to meet with his team, not questioning what had just happened. When he was younger, the villagers would always play cruel jokes on him, and he figured this was just part of it.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Well Kakashi-sensei, you were right. They seem to be skilled enough to fight in the Chuunin exams. Although, I must say, Sakura and Naruto's response was to be expected. With Sasuke however...well, I must say I was quite shocked." Iruka said.

"Yes, he never ceases to amaze me. I'm going to meet them now and let them know about the exams. I shall see you later, ja!" Kakashi said as he poofed away, he was going to be on time, simply because he had an important matter to discuss with his young team.

'Please be safe, Naruto.' Iruka frowned, hoping the blond would make it okay through the exams.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted as he ran up to the girl. It was now 11:55 AM, and Sasuke would be there any minute.

"Naruto-chan, hello." She replied happily. She briefly remembered the mangled body of Naruto, and was grateful that it was only a genjutsu. She wouldn't know what to do if Naruto had really died. The pinkette didn't even want to think about it.

"Where's Sasuke-kun? You two usually come together." Sakura questioned.

"Oh, well...he...Oh! There he is, actually!" Naruto pointed in the distance. Sasuke was slowly making his way towards them.

"Sasuke-kun! Over here!" Sakura waved her hand in the air, signaling the raven to approach them. When he did, he glanced over at Naruto quickly before turning away. He had no need to speak with Naruto at the moment.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted, causing Naruto and Sakura to go wide-eyed with shock. Not only was he on time, but he was actually a few minutes early!

"You're early?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"Yes, well, I do it from time to time. And I have something to tell you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, the Chuunin exams are in two days, and I'd like you three to enter. I have papers for you to fill out, and if you agree to enter, than you must bring them to the Hokage." Kakashi explained briefly.

"EH! Chuunin exams? Really?" Naruto asked in excitement.

"Yes, but you all must think hard on it. The Chuunin exams are no joke, and they're very dangerous. I'm not going to be there with you. For half of it, you three will be working together, for the other half, you're going to be on your own. Are you up for that challenge?" Kakashi asked, his voice filled with seriousness. He wanted his students to think about it, and not answer 'yes' just because they wanted to be in the exam. He wanted them to truly mean it.

"Well, what do you say?" Kakashi asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes!" His students answered in sync, and he smiled. Whether or not they passed, this exam would make them work better as a team, and above all, it would make them stronger.

**XOXOXOXO**

"So it turns out that your friend Naruto will be in the Chuunin exams." Temari told her younger brother, who whipped his head around at the mention of Naruto's name.

"Oh? Is that so?" Gaara asked. This would be rather interesting. He would be able to see the blond fight and see how he worked with his own team. Gaara would also be able to learn more about Sasuke. Which is what Gaara really wanted to learn more about.

**XOXOXOXO**

It was about three thirty two A.M. when Naruto heard a gently tap at his balcony door. He sat up slowly and looked over at his closed door, listening intently to make sure Sasuke wasn't coming. He would get in trouble if Sasuke found Naruto letting someone into his room, especially at night. He knew who it was though, so Naruto stood up, and walked quietly over to the door, opening it up.

"Shh, I'm going to get in trouble if he see's you, Gaara. What are you even doing here?" Naruto whispered as quietly as he could as he let the boy from Suna enter his room from the balcony. Sasuke didn't exactly say not to see Gaara anymore. He simply said to turn the other way if he ran into Gaara accidentally. This was no accident, and on technical terms, Gaara 'ran into him'.

"I came to watch you again."

"No, Gaara! It's not normal to watch people sleep! It's extremely creepy, and I don't like it. This isn't some stupid book! Don't do it, okay?" Naruto pleaded. He didn't like the thought of being watched while he was sleeping. It made him feel overly vulnerable.

"Why do you listen to him? He only hurts you, why do you care about him so much anyway?" Gaara asked, deciding not to comment about what Naruto had said about watching him sleep. Gaara would rather focus on Sasuke at the moment, anyway. Love was a foreign thing to him, so he didn't understand the relationship Naruto and Sasuke had. From what he saw, when people 'loved' each other, they did nice things for each other, and took care of one another. Naruto did that to Sasuke, but all Sasuke did in return was harm him both mentally and physically.

"He's my only family. I love him very much, and he needs me, even if he doesn't admit it. One day he'll be back to the Sasuke I used to know. And one day he'll say 'I love you' to me. I live for that one day. It's a dream of my, as well as becoming Hokage of course!" Naruto explained as he sat down on his bed. He patted the place next to him, silently telling Gaara to sit next to him. Gaara walked over to the bed and sat down next to the blue-eyed blond.

"I never understood love, it's foreign to me, but you seem to understand it quite well, despite everything you've been through, despite all the hatred from the villagers. You and I are one in the same, yet you've grown up so innocently, and you're always so happy." Gaara stated, and he looked over at Naruto when he didn't respond after a few seconds. Naruto had fallen asleep, and was curled on his side in a tight little ball, smiling gently.

"I agreed to let them use me in the attack towards Konoha because I have no attachments, and I live for myself only. But now I feel as though it's all wrong. Why Naruto, why am I feeling this way?" He asked the sleeping blond, who moved slightly in his sleep. Gaara grabbed the blanket and pulled it over Naruto's sleeping form. The blond mumbled in his sleep and turned over.

"Tomorrow is the start of the exams, but the attack won't happen until the third part, which is next month, so I have plenty of time to think about it. I shouldn't care. I should just..." He said as he stood up and pulled the blankets over Naruto. He walked over to the balcony and jumped out, silently telling Naruto he'd see him soon.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Sasuke panted as he sat up quickly, completely disgusted at the dream he just had. He pulled his covers off his body and looked down between his legs to see something trying to make it's way out of his boxers.

'No…not again…' He thought to himself, panting. He had been getting morning wood for the past few weeks and it was beginning to drive him crazy. Cold showers just didn't help much anymore, he knew what he had to do, but he didn't want to do it himself.

Sighing, he stood up and made his way to the bathroom. He stood in front of the toilet and pulled his aching member out of his boxers. Slowly and experimentally he ran his hand down his shaft, moaning at how amazing it felt. He ran his fingers along the tip, smearing the pre-cum that had gathered there, before bringing his hand back up his shaft, caressing his balls with his thumb, before pumping towards the tip again.

"Ah." He moaned as he began to pump faster, realized the faster he pumped his hand, the better it felt. A few seconds passed, and he froze as he felt an intense wave of pleasure splash through his body, and he felt as though he had just exploded. He let himself calm down for a few seconds before placing his now soft member back in his pants.

He looked down at his hand, which was covered in a sticky white substance, and winced slightly. He walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. He let the water run over his hands, washing the cum down the drain. He dried his hands and left the bathroom. He was going to get dressed and wake Naruto up.

"Hn, speaking of Naruto, I wonder how it'll feel if he does that to me…"

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Naruto stretched as he sat up in excitement. It was finally here, the day of the Chuunin exams! He had only known for about two days, but he was so anxious to finally start them. He was going to show Sasuke that he was as strong as him, and maybe, just maybe, Sasuke would finally be proud of him.

"Naruto, get up." Sasuke ordered as he pounded on the door a few times before opening it. Naruto sat up quickly and greeted the raven.

"Good morning Sasuke! Eh? Are you okay? You look flushed." Naruto commented as he looked the other boy over. Sasuke was dressed in his normal clothes, but his cheeks were a bit flushed, as though he had just been engaged in something that had taken his breath away.

"I'm fine, dobe. Get dressed. We're meeting Kakashi and Sakura in twenty minutes." He said as he let his eyes quickly glaze over Naruto's bare chest, before turning around and leaving the room. Naruto smiled inwardly at the fact that Sasuke had no clue about Gaara.

Speaking of Gaara, Naruto had noticed that he was tucked in completely when he had awoken, and that the balcony door was closed.

"Thanks, Gaara." Naruto whispered as he got off his bed and grabbed his clothes from his dresser.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

About twenty minutes later, Team Kakashi was standing in front of the Academy, making their way inside, where they were met by many of the other people who were entering the exams as well. The others were all different ages. Varying from younger than they were, to very old, and they were also from all the different villages.

"There's so many people here from other villages! This is so exciting." Sakura said as she looked around at the people who wore different forehead protectors.

"Stop it! Just let us in!" A young girl said. The girl had dark brown hair, which she wore in Chinese style buns on the side of her head, and brown eyes. She was wearing a pink sleeveless shirt and green pants. She was trying to make her way into a room, but there were two teenagers there, blocking her way. Sh One of them pulled back and hit her, causing her to fly backwards, but land gracefully on her feet.

"Hmm, that's Tenten right? She's on Gai-sensei's team. They graduated from the Academy a year before we did." Sakura pointed out, watching the fight.

"Yeah, there's Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji too!" Naruto said, pointing towards them. Neji was currently sitting on the floor, and Lee was standing next to him.

Neji had long brown hair, which was tied at the end. He had strange, pale eyes. He was wearing a khaki shirt, and dark brown pants.

Lee had bushy eyebrows, and very round eyes, with prominent lower lashes. His hair was black and cut in a bowl style. He wore a green jumpsuit, and orange leg warmers.

"Tch, are you enjoying making us wait? While some of these people may be stupid, I am not. This isn't even the third floor, it's the second floor. Come on Sakura, Naruto let's get away from these losers." He said as he walked forwards toward the stairs. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other before following him, and they came to a realization. Someone was using genjutsu to make everyone think it was the third floor!

"That was, intriguing. I look forward to fighting you, Uchiha Sasuke." Lee thought as he and his team made there way up the stairs. After they left, the two teenagers released the genjutsu, making everyone see the truth.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"That kid with Uchiha Sasuke, what's his name?" Neji asked, hoping to get an answer from either Lee or Tenten. He had _heard_ of the young blond, but never knew his name.

"I believe he is Uzumaki Naruto. He may not seem like much, but according to Gai-sensei, he can be very strong." Lee answered as they made their way to the top of the stairs. Lee wanted to see how strong Sasuke was, and decided to have a quick spar with him. Tenten rolled her eyes at this.

"Uzumaki Naruto? I await the time where we can actually speak face to face."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Gaara sat at the far end of the room with his two siblings (who were also his team) until the door opened for the first exam to start. He knew the first exam was literally an exam, and he remembered Baki-sensei saying something about not being able to study for it. It didn't matter either way, Gaara wouldn't have studied if he could.

He let his gaze fall over Naruto, who was standing with his team. His team consisted of Uchiha Sasuke, and a girl with long pink hair. Naruto, as if feeling his gaze looked over and smiled back at Gaara. He didn't wave because he didn't want Sasuke to say anything.

"That's your friend, isn't it Gaara?" Temari asked, trying to be as calm and casual as possible. She knew what Gaara was like, and she knew her younger brother would kill her if she said something wrong. But ever since Gaara had met the young blond, he seemed a little more…civilized, almost as if he was acting human.

At her comment, Gaara glared at Temari before answering.

"Friend? Is that what he is to me?" Gaara asked. While he spent time with Naruto, he knew the boy was something to him, he just didn't know what it was.

"Well, yes. You seem to enjoy spending time with him." Temari replied. She saw how her younger brother snuck into the blonds room at night. She found it cute, innocent and romantic. Like a prince going to rescue a forbidden princess. However, she knew Gaara never meant anything romantic by it. He was just confused.

Temari liked this Naruto kid, and was determined to make sure they stayed friends, no matter what the cost may be.

* * *

><p>Eh, so the start of the Chuunin exams. The whole thing with the actual exam (the first part) will be sort of the same, so I'm going to breeze through it. The actually forest part, and the fights however, will differ! After that, this story will make a complete turn away from anything in the mangaanime! Look forward to it!

As always, thanks for your reviews everyone!


	15. Protect

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**Warning**: Forced oral sex in this chapter!

* * *

><p>"Wow! Who would have thought it would be that simple, ne Sasuke-kun, Naruto-chan?" Sakura asked her teammates as everyone was escorted out from the exam room. She was able to answer a majority of the questions on the exam, but in the end, all she had to do, all anyone had to do, was wait it out. If they were brave enough to stay put, they'd pass, without even having to worry about answering any questions.<p>

That was the first test.

"Yatta! I'm so glad! This is going to be great. I can't wait to get started, I wonder what the next part of the exam is going to be?" Naruto asked excitedly. Sakura giggled at his enthusiasm. Sasuke seemed indifferent about it, but both Sakura and Naruto knew that he was just as anxious as they were to see what was going to happen next. Sasuke, being Sasuke, would never show it.

Gaara watched from afar, happy that his friend from Konoha had passed the first part. He could only hope that the hyperactive blond would make it to the end of everything. He hoped that Naruto would be promoted to the Chuunin rank. The blond had the strength for it, and Gaara didn't want anything to happen to Naruto if he didn't make it. Gaara knew Sasuke well enough (even though he never really met him) to know that he'd hurt the blond if he didn't pass.

"Gaara," Baki called out. He had been noticing a sudden change in the red-head's attitude and personality lately. No doubt the little blond boy from Konoha was behind it. He'd have to find a way to deal with him sometime soon.

"What is it?" Gaara snapped, angry that his sensei was taking his attention away from watching Naruto.

"You mustn't stray too far from the plan. It is still going to take place, one month from now, at the final part of the Chuunin exams. You haven't forgotten your place, have you Gaara?" Baki asked. It wouldn't be good if Gaara grew soft due to Naruto, and abandoned the plan. Could one young boy change another person that much? It couldn't be possible. It just couldn't be.

"The plan? Do not tell me what to do Baki." Gaara stated, he wasn't the type to take orders from another, not even his sensei.

The tone in Gaara's voice sent shivers down Baki's spine, but he stayed brave. He had to stay brave in order to stick with the plan.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"I wonder, how my darling little brother's are right now. It's been almost five years since I've seen them. Maybe it's time to make myself known. I'm sure Naruto will be quite _happy_to see me." A young man wondered out loud. He wore a black robe with red clouds on it. He had black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and piercing black eyes. He wore a strange necklace that wrapped almost tightly around his neck.

"Itachi, the vision you showed Sasuke that day, what was it?" Another man asked. He too, was wearing the same robe, except this man was much taller. He held a large sword and his skin had a tint of blue to it. He had sharp teeth and his appearance made him resemble a shark.

"The vision? When I trapped him with mangekyou sharingan?" Itachi asked, and the shark-man nod his head. It was something Itachi hadn't thought about since it had happened.

**Flashback**

"_I will show him what he fears the most. I'll show him Naruto's death." Itachi said to himself as he waited for his younger brothers to return home. He was going to trap Sasuke in Tsukiyomi, and show him Naruto dying, slowly. It would crush the little boy, and make him even more protective than he was now. It was all a part of the plan that Itachi had laid out the moment he found out that his parents were adopting Uzumaki Naruto, the container of the Kyuubi. It was almost perfect._

Something happened. Itachi had meant to show the death of Naruto, but instead, something went horribly wrong. Perhaps it was because it was the first time he was using the mangekyou sharingan on another, or perhaps it was because Sasuke was terrified. But that day, after planning so hard for this one day, everything went downhill when Sasuke saw the wrong vision in Tsukiyomi.

**End Flashback**

"Kisame, it's…not of any importance right now." Itachi told his partner, who looked at him weirdly. He didn't want to tell his partner that his plan had been trashed for three years already. It also wouldn't bode to well with Leader-sama.

"Whatever you say, Itachi. When are we going to go capture the Kyuubi-brat?" Kisame asked, anxious for some action. It had been rather boring around the Akatsuki headquarters lately.

"In time, Kisame. We must wait until after the exams, and then we shall make our move." Itachi answered as the pair walked towards the Akatsuki hideout.  
><strong><br>XOXOXOXOXO**

"This will prove to be quite interesting, Orochimaru-sama. I never would have thought Uzumaki Naruto would be in the exams. I thought he was too young to enter." A young man knelt down in front of the other. The young man had gray hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail. He wore glasses and a Konoha forehead protector.

"By Uzumaki Naruto, you mean Namikaze Naruto? Namikaze Minato's son? The Yondaime? The same boy who was adopted by the Uchiha family?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yes, that's him. He's very strong, and Sasuke keeps pushing him harder and harder. The boy is either going to break, or be consumed with his power. He will make a good subordinate, if you choose to take him from this place."

"Very good, Kabuto. You may go now." Orochimaru dismissed the silver haired spy.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Gaara hadn't been really paying attention when Anko was explaining what would happen next. He barely registered that she was explaining that, in order to pass, each team had to have two scrolls. One being the book of heaven and the other being the book of earth. Each team was given one to start off with, and had to steal the other from another team, all the while staying alive and getting to the tower on the fart edge of the forest. Gaara knew he and his siblings would get the scrolls easily.

It was Naruto he was worried about.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Team 7 had been in the Forest of Death for only five minutes when they were attacked. It was a team of mist-nin that had attacked them. But there was something very different about them. They seemed weak. Weaker than normal.

"It seems that you have the scroll we need." One of the team members said, and Naruto grasped the scroll tightly. He wouldn't let it go, he would fight for it! And he knew Sakura, and Sasuke would do the same. They weren't going to give up so easily. They all wanted to become Chuunin's. No matter what, they wouldn't give up!

"Go!" One of the mist-nin shouted, and the three of them rushed forward. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura braced themselves, ready to defend their scroll. They dealt with Zabuza and Haku, two mist-nins, and these were only Genins. They would be able to handle them.

The first Mist-nin a red-haired teenage boy with brown eyes, attacked Naruto. He slashed forward with his kunai, sloppily missing the blond. Naruto grabbed his wrist and twisted it, throwing the redhead a few feet away into a bush. Naruto waited a few moments for him to emerge, but he never did.

The next Mist-nin, a girl with long blue hair and piercing red eyes attacked Sakura. The bluette began to form a few hand seals slowly, but it was too slow, and Sakura punched her in the gut, sending her flying back.

The final mist-nin, a blond haired coal-eyed boy attacked Sasuke. The Uchiha, seeing how easy his teammates took out the other two, simply aimed a kick at the blonds stomach, successfully knocking him out.

"Oi. Is it just me, or was that too easy?" Naruto asked as he searched through the red heads clothes. His eyes widened as he grabbed the seal. They had both seals now, and all they had to do, was make their way back to the tower. Was it really possible that it was this easy?

"No, it wasn't just you. Sakura, Naruto, do _not_let your guard down! I have a feeling that this was just a set-up, and the real trouble will rear it's head while we make our way towards the tower."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Kabuto's glasses gleamed in the sun as he watched team seven easily defeat the Mist-nins. It was, of course, a set up. Orochimaru wanted them to get both scrolls easily. This was because they were going to be attacked more now. Other teams would have lost both their scrolls already, and when they found out that Team Seven had both scrolls, they would fight with all their power, trying their hardest to steal the scrolls, causing Team 7 to fight with all they've got as well.

Orochimaru wanted to see exactly how strong Sasuke and Naruto were. Sakura was nothing to him but an annoying girl who would just get in the way of his plans. To make it easier, he would expose of her soon enough, unlocking more of Naruto's power through his anger.

Gaara's team was the first to make it to the tower with both scrolls. Temari and Kankuro were actually surprised that Gaara didn't stay around longer to kill some other ninja's. He hadn't killed anyone, not even the team they took the scroll from.

"It's because of Naruto, isn't it?" Temari wondered to herself. Naruto was slowly, very slowly softening Gaara. Of course, Gaara was still anti-social and very cruel, but there was something very different about him.

"I wonder, though. How will this effect our alliance with Oto?" Temari asked herself as Gaara walked over to the window and looked outside. Temari figured he was watching for Naruto, to see if the blond and the rest of his team would make it this far.

"I don't know how this will work out, but as long as Gaara is…happy…that's all that matters."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"What? You want us to abandon the plan? Orochimaru-sama, why?" Kabuto asked, shocked at the fact that Orochimaru was going to abandon the plan he worked so hard on.

"Now isn't the right time. And it seems as though Gaara-kun is having second thoughts in our deal. This is all thanks to our dear Naruto-kun." Orochimaru answered calmly. Although he wanted to crush Konoha, he could wait. Patience is a virtue, after all. He had all the time in the world.

"But we can-"

"Enough! Kabuto, do you know who you are talking to? Feel free to take the exam to the end. You are certainly strong enough to be a Chuunin. I'd like you to see you fight against Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun." Orochimaru said, stripping his persona as a grass-nin. Since he wasn't going through with the plan, there was no need for him to keep up the act.

"Kabuto, I want you to make sure Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, and Sakura make it through this test alive. Stay near them, and make sure they don't get attacked." Orochimaru ordered, before he poofed away, leaving Kabuto alone in the forest. Kabuto sighed in disbelief before going off to find Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Oi! Sakura-chan, look! I can see the tower! It's so close." Naruto yelled out, pointing out the tower.

"Moron, shut up! What is someone hears you?" Sasuke hissed, hitting smacking him hard on the head. Naruto covered his abused head and stepped back.

"Sorry Sasuke-san." Naruto apologized sadly. He couldn't help but be excited. They had both scrolls, and they were so close to the tower, without even being attacked. It was almost unreal. They hadn't encountered any one after those mist-nins had attacked them.

"Sasuke-kun, why don't…you be a little nice to Naruto-chan?" Sakura offered, suddenly feeling bad for the blond.

"Nice? You want me to be nice to him? Tch, funny Sakura, very funny." Sasuke remarked as he began walking towards the tower, completely ignoring his teammates. He could care less about them. He just wanted to get this exam over and done with, so he could be promoted to the Chuunin rank.

Sakura and Naruto followed closely behind, completely unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching them, and completely unaware of Kabuto protecting them.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled out, waving to his friend as he entered the tower behind Sasuke. The only other team that was there, was Gaara's. That was partially because they were only a few hours into the exam, and all the other teams were still fighting, trying to get scrolls, and slowly making their way towards the tower.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched Naruto walk over to the red-head. He distinctly remembered telling Naruto to stay away from him! Sasuke scowled, telling himself that he'd have to teach Naruto a lesson in disobedience soon.

"You made it! And you guys were all the first too! That's amazing, congratulations! Maybe we'll fight each other, ne?" Naruto said. Gaara looked almost happy when Naruto approached him.

"Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it Naruto?" Gaara responded, looking over at Sasuke, who was glaring at him. It made Gaara wonder about the Uchiha. He claimed to hate Naruto, but if he did, then why was he so protective towards him?

Since Team seven finished so early in the second part of the exam, there was no reason for any of them to stick around the tower, and the same went for Baki-sensei's team. They were allowed to go home (Or, in the Suna-nin's case, back to the hotel they were staying at), as long as they returned in two days so they would be there for the announcement of how the third part of the exams would begin.  
>Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto walked together until Sakura went her own separate way. She waved goodbye to her teammates and walked off, hoping Naruto would be okay. Sasuke had been giving him some particularly nasty looks when the young blond boy was talking to the redheaded genin boy from Sand.<p>

"Sakura-san? May I speak with you?" The spiky blond haired female asked as Sakura got to the corner of her block. Sakura turned around in confusion, wondering why this teenager from San was talking to her. While Suna and Konoha weren't enemies, they weren't exactly on speaking terms either.

"Uhh, sure…" She paused, waiting for the blond to reveal her name.

"Temari. I am Gaara's older sister and teammate. Gaara was the redhead that your teammate, Naruto was talking to earlier." Temari explained.

"Oh!" Sakura replied, everything becoming a little clearer to her now.

"Well, can you come with me? Or would you rather I come with you to your house?" Temari asked. She figured it would be best to let the pink-haired girl choose where she wanted to go. Temari knew that the kunoichi was feeling a little tense, seeing as that Temari was from another village. Temari really did only want to talk to Sakura, so in order to do that, she had to gain the younger kunoichi's trust first.

"Hmm, well, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat, okay, Temari-san?" Sakura suggested.

"Yes, that should be fine."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Gaara was never the type of person to get worried, simply because he didn't care about anyone or anything other than himself. However, when he saw the sadistic look in Sasuke's eyes when Team seven left the tower, something fluttered in the pit of his stomach.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Sasuke-san, what are you doing?" Naruto asked. It was the morning after they had returned from the tower, and Sasuke had come into Naruto's room. Naruto woke up when he felt the elder boy looming over him, panting slightly.

"Quiet!" Sasuke snapped as he pulled the ties to his pajama pants, loosening them. He pulled them down up to his knee's, causing Naruto to stare at him, thoroughly confused as to what Sasuke was doing, and why he was doing it in the first place.

"Sa…What are you doing?" Naruto asked. He was a bit too young to know anything about sex, whereas Sasuke looked into it, when he began going through puberty. There were no girls that he liked. In fact, he hated girls. They were too clingy, love struck, giddy, and annoying. He didn't like any guys either. In fact, Uchiha Sasuke liked no one, but he wanted to get rid of the sexual frustration he was feeling, so he figured Naruto was his 'slave' so why not use him? It's not like he loved Naruto, oh no. He hated Naruto more than he hated any one else. He hated Naruto almost as much as he hated Itachi.

"Shut up!" Sasuke ordered as he pulled his member out of his boxers. It was erect, and dripping with pre-cum, sticking out in front of the blond, waiting to be cared to.

"Sasuke…What…are you okay? Why is it sticking up like that? And what's that weird stuff dripping from it? Is it water?" Naruto questioned. He was only eleven, and hadn't even begun any form of puberty yet, so he had no clue what was going on.

He couldn't help but blush slightly. When he and Sasuke were younger, before their family had been slaughtered, they took baths together often, so they saw each other naked sometimes. But now, Sasuke was kneeling on top of Naruto, with each leg on either side of his chest, shoving his hardened erection dangerously close to the blonds face.

"Suck." Sasuke whispered huskily, causing Naruto to look up at him.

"Wha…what? Suck what?" Naruto asked, confused. Surely Sasuke didn't want him to suck his penis.

Sasuke stayed silent for a moment. At first, he was going to ask Naruto to stroke him, and touch him, figuring it would feel a lot better for the blonde to do it, rather than himself. But Sasuke heard a teenage boy telling his friends that his girlfriend sucked him off, and it felt amazing. Therefore, Sasuke decided to have Naruto do that instead.

"My dick…" Sasuke said, shoving it to Naruto's lips. Naruto groaned and turned his face away, not wanting to do what Sasuke was telling him too. Who in the world would want that sucked on?

"Sasuke-san…why do you want me to do that? It's gross." Naruto replied, his warm breath cascaded over Sasuke's erection, causing the raven to moan slightly. Naruto made a strange noise when he saw more liquid drip down off Sasuke's penis, onto the bed.

"Damn it Naruto! You're going to do it, even if I have to pry your mouth open!" Sasuke shouted. He grabbed Naruto's neck and squeezed, causing the blond to open his mouth. The moment Naruto's mouth was opened; Sasuke shoved his erection halfway in. This caused Naruto to gag, and almost bite down on the Uchiha's dick.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered breathlessly. He loved how Naruto's mouth felt on his erection. The blonds mouth was so hot and wet, it felt amazing around his hard cock. He never would have thought that it felt this good!

"Don't bite down. Run your tongue around it, and suck." Sasuke ordered. Naruto tried to pull away, but Sasuke held onto his hair, shoving himself deeper into Naruto's mouth. The blond gagged, and struggled harder, his throat felt like it was on fire and he had the feeling like he was going to throw up.

"Naruto, the faster you do this, the quicker it will be over. Now suck!" Sasuke demanded. Naruto made a slight protesting sound and ran his tongue along the underside of the ravens cock. It was a hard thing to do, considering the fact that he kept gagging. When he heard Sasuke moan above him, he realized that he was doing something right.

Sasuke's cock tasted weird in his mouth, and he could barely do anything without gagging. He pulled away as far as Sasuke would let him, and sucked on the tip. This caused a loud moan to tear out of the ravens lips, and he tightened his hold on Naruto's hair, thrusting himself deeper into the blonds mouth. Naruto gagged and felt tears slip out of his eyes. His throat really hurt now.

He gave one more long suck on the older ravens cock, before he felt a flush of something enter his mouth quickly. Sasuke pulled out of his mouth and Naruto fell back into a coughing fit. Whatever he didn't swallow was dripping down his chin.

**XOXOXOXOXO**  
>"I don't know what's going on between them. Why do you ask?" Sakura asked the blonde. The two were at Ichiraku ramen, snacking on some gyoza and miso soup.<p>

"You don't? I thought for sure you would. I know they live together, but-" Temari began, but stopped when she heard Sakura gasp and saw her eyes widen.

"They live together?" Sakura shrieked. She knew that they lived in the same direction, but she never knew that they lived together! Then again, they always went home together, always came to training together, so how could she not see it?

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" Temari asked.

"No…but do you know why they live together?" Sakura questioned.

"No, Gaara wouldn't tell me. All I know is that Sasuke seems to be getting a bit more abusive towards Naruto because he became friends with Gaara."

"What do you mean more abusive?" Sakura asked. It was a common thing for Sasuke to snap at Naruto, and even hit him sometimes, but certainly it was just playful. Sasuke couldn't really be hurting Naruto at home, could he?

"He mentally and physically abuses him. Haven't you taken notice of it? You are on his team, after all." Temari replied. Sakura seemed to be a nice enough girl. But how could she not notice how cruel Sasuke was to Naruto? Didn't she care about her blond teammate? Although Gaara wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world, Temari still cared about him, as well as she cared about her other brother, Kankuro.

"I…yeah, of course I did!" Sakura lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. She did notice it. She just didn't know it was that bad.

"Temari-san, is there anything else you'd like to know?" Sakura asked.

"No, I only wanted to talk with you. I'll see you in two days at the exam. Good luck with whomever you are fighting. Just know, if it's me, I won't go easy on you." She said half playfully, half serious before she left.

"Hmm, for some reason, I feel as though I can trust her." Sakura said to herself, as she stood up. She left the money for her food and left Ichiraku ramen.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"See Iruka-sensei? Nothing to worry about. All the rookies have made it passed the Forest of Death. My team seemed to breeze through it." Kakashi said, smiling, as he sat down with Iruka in the Chuunin's house, eating lunch.

"Yes...well.."Iruka trailed off, his mind elsewhere.

"What is it? Something bothering you?" Kakashi asked, putting down his chopsticks and placing his head on top of Iruka's.

"I'm just still a bit worried about Naruto..." Iruka replied, looking at Kakashi's hand on top his own. He raised a curious brow, but didn't say anything or move his hand.

"I think people underestimate that kid. With some more training, I think he'll turn out to be a very good ninja."

"More training? I guess. But with who?"

"I have...someone in mind."

* * *

><p>I know Naruto was rather...naive about what Sasuke did to him. But remember, he's only eleven. He doesn't know anything about sex yet.<p>

If you have any questions at all, or are confused, say so in your review, and I will reply to it. You all have so many questions, and I can't answer most of them now, without giving anything away.

Sasuke's vision: You'll see about that...eventually.

Also, it seems like everyone is rooting for Gaara to take Naruto away. Haha.


	16. Fight

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto

Long chapter (12 pages), fights that aren't really descriptive (if I had to write all those fights...ugh. Lol). Sorry for the long wait!

* * *

><p>After Sasuke finished with Naruto, he left the blonds room to train. Naruto simply went back to sleep, unable to take the pain in his throat. It was strange to him, because he had no clue what Sasuke was doing. However, judging by the moans Sasuke had been making, he seemed to enjoy what Naruto had done to him.<p>

With a deep sigh, Naruto fell into a deep slumber, silently hoping that Sasuke wouldn't want him to do that again.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked into the mirror. His shaking hands gripped the sink. He couldn't believe what he had just done. It felt amazing, much better than whatever he had done to himself, but it was Naruto bringing him the pleasure.

"Damn it." Sasuke swore as he turned on the sink and splashed some cold water on his face, in attempt to calm himself down.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

The two days that they had free went by rather quickly. Sasuke avoided Naruto, and the two trained separately. The only time they saw each other was when they were on their way to where the next part of the exams would take place. It was only natural that they'd walk together.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily, as he ran to catch up to his pink-haired teammate. She paused and smiled at him. When he caught up, they resumed walking. Sasuke was a few feet behind them, and could care less if they waited for him or not.

Sakura felt slightly awkward around Naruto, ever since she found out they he lived with Sasuke, and that Sasuke abused him. Naruto never showed that he was being abused, because he was always happy. Naruto was an amazing person. Anyone else would have easily cracked under the pressure and abuse.

"Hi Naruto-chan." Sakura greeted back, smiling, trying her hardest to not act indifferently towards Naruto.

"Hello to you too, Sasuke-kun." Sakura turned around and waved at her raven haired teammate, who simply nod his head at her acknowledgment.

"So, how did your two day training go?" Sakura asked, starting a conversation in attempts to quell the tension in the air.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"What? What do you mean you're going to abandon your attack on Konoha? We worked so hard on it, and now you want to abandon the plan? That's unacceptable, Kabuto-san." Baki yelled. If it were almost anyone else, they would have flinched at his cruel voice, but Kabuto stood firm. He has no reason to be afraid of Baki.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but Orochimaru-sama has found that it wouldn't be worth it to do it now. He has other ideas in mind. Ideas that will work much better." Kabuto answered, smirking. If Baki only knew the half of it. Orochimaru had long since been using them for bait. Not only did he want to crush Konoha, but he wanted to crush Suna too.

"Inconvenience? You apologize as if it's so simple. What am I supposed to tell Kazekage now? And Gaara? I'm sure he will be pissed. He'd been planning this with his father for a long time." Baki announced.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Gaara has changed since he came to Konoha. And that is because of a little boy by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. If you'd like to blame anyone, blame him." Kabuto finished. He was done talking, and he was going to take his leave. He bowed slightly to Baki before poofing away.

"Uzumaki Naruto, eh? The Kyuubi brat? Well, instead of attacking Konoha, Gaara is going to kill him. I can only hope that they'll be paired up to fight."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled as he ran up to his red-haired friend. He hugged the boy tightly before pulling away. It seemed as though Gaara and his team hadn't really left the tower.

"Hello Naruto." Gaara responded, seeming a bit less friendly to Naruto than usual.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked as he took a seat next to the Suna-nin. Kankuro was sitting on Gaara's other side, next to Temari, and he looked over at the blond before turning back to his elder sister.

"So, that's him?" Kankuro whispered in her ear, and she nod her head in response, keeping her eyes on her youngest brother and his friend.

"Nothing, Naruto. I suggest you go over to your team. The announcement is about to start. I will see you soon." Gaara told him, his voice completely devoid of any emotion, just as it had been in the beginning, when he and Naruto first met each other.

"Okay you good for nothing brats, listen up!" Anko yelled into a microphone. Everyone stopped talking and looked over to her. They all knew from the Forest of Death that she wasn't someone that you'd want to mess with. She was tough.

"Just to announce, the teams that passed are: Team Baki of Sunagakure; Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. Team seven of Konoha; Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto smiled proudly at the mention of his team and Gaara's.

Anko continued. "Team eight of Konoha; Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino." Neji looked over at his younger cousin and her team. He hoped that he would face her, because he wanted to show his uncle that _he_should be the one to lead the clan after his death. Hinata was too weak, way too weak to become a leader. Her little sister Hanabi was almost as strong as her, and she was only seven.

"Team ten of Konoha; Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji." At this, Gai gasped. The nine Genin who were dubbed as 'The Rookie Nine' all made it passed the second part of the exam. He would have never thought they would make it that far. Although, that didn't mean he wasn't excited!

"Team Gai of Konohagakure; Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji. Team five of Yukigakure (1); Rouga Nadare, Fuyukuma Mizore and Kakuyoku Fubuki. Team six of Otogakure; Tayuya, Sakon, and Kidomaru, and finally Team three of Otogakure; Zaku, Kin, and Dosu." Anko finished. By the time the preliminaries were over, half of the contestants would be eliminated.

"Wow. That is a lot of people." Naruto said out loud. He wasn't really speaking to anyone, but Sakura decided to respond to him.

"Yeah! But I know you'll pass, and so will Sasuke-kun. We're all going to make it to the third exam! And together, we'll be Chuunin! It'll be great! I can't wait." Sakura stated enthusiastically. Naruto smiled back at her, silently agreeing, and Sasuke just stayed silent. He could care less about Sakura, but he wanted Naruto to make it, because if he didn't, the blond would just drag him down.

"And now, we're going to announce who will be fighting who. The names are being picked at random and are written on this board. Look closely, and prepare for the worst." Anko said as she stepped away from the board she was in front of. She pulled of the sheet to reveal it to the contestants.

Fight one: Tenten (Konoha) vs. Ino (Konoha)

Fight two: Shino (Konoha) vs. Tayuya (Oto)

Fight Three: Sakura (Konoha) vs. Kankuro (Suna)

Fight Four: Sasuke (Konoha) vs. Kin (Oto)

Fight Five: Shikamaru (Konoha) vs. Fubuki (Yuki)

Fight Six: Chouji (Konoha) vs. Hinata (Konoha)

Fight Seven: Neji (Konoha) vs. Nadare (Yuki)

Fight Eight: Gaara (Suna) vs. Lee (Konoha)

Fight Nine: Temari (Suna) vs. Dosu (Oto)

Fight Ten: Naruto (Konoha) vs. Kidomaru (Oto)

Fight Eleven: Kiba (Konoha) vs. Sakon (Oto)

Fight Twelve: Mizore (Yuki) vs. Zaku (Oto)

It took a few moments for everyone to consume everything before the audience, as well as the fighters began to talk. The most anticipated fight so far was Gaara vs. Lee, and many of the Oto battles. It was, no doubt, going to be very interesting, and this was only the preliminaries.

"Kidomaru of Oto? I don't even know who he is. At least you have someone interesting, Sakura-chan." Naruto complained. He wanted to fight someone he knew, Gaara perhaps, or even someone from Konoha.

"Tch, stop complaining, dobe." Sasuke said, and Naruto brought his eyes to meet Sasuke's. This was the first time the two had talked since the incident in his bedroom, and Naruto had no clue how to act around Sasuke.

"Ye…yeah!" Naruto laughed, brushing away any weird feelings he was having. He was supposed to be excited! And there was no way he was going to be excited if he was wondering about Sasuke.

"Remember that these are the preliminaries. Whoever loses here, has officially lost their chance to become a chuunin until the next exams, in six months." Anko explained.

"That's fine! Because I'm going to win this!" Naruto cheered, looking over at his teammates. Sasuke looked emotionless, and Sakura looked a little nervous.

"Alright, without waiting any longer, let's begin the first battle. Tenten of Konoha versus Ino of Konoha!" Anko announced.

Naruto watched anxiously as Tenten and Ino walked into the fighting area. The crowd was silent, wondering what was going to happen between the two Konoha kunoichi's. Tenten was known as the weapon mistress, being able to summon any weapon to use at her leisure, ut Ino was from the Yamanaka clan, and their bloodline wasn't something to be reckoned with. Although, a lot of people were placing their bets on Tenten, because she was a year older. However, with shinobi's, age meant nothing.

"This should be easy. I've never seen her actually use any jutsu. All she had are those stupid weapons. All I have to do is keep her still, long enough to transfer myself into her body." Ino told herself. She had watched Gai-sensei's team train a few times before. Lee and Neji were going to be tough to beat, but Tenten seemed simple enough. Ino knew that Tenten's weapon's never missed their target, but Ino just had to get out of the way and use her own jutsu while Tenten was summoning her weapons.

"Fight one of the Preliminary battles, Tenten of Konoha, versus Yamanaka Ino!"

"Come on Ino!" Chouji cheered from the upper deck. He was standing with Shikamaru (Who looked like he could really care less, but in reality, he was cheering her on, on the inside) and their sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, who was also cheering Ino on. In all honesty, they weren't sure who would win this battle, because both kunoichi's had their own unique strengths.

On the other side, both Lee and Gai were screaming out Tenten's name, causing Neji to sigh in embarrassment.

Gaara snuck a glance over at Naruto, who was leaning against the railing, watching the fight. The blond must have noticed that Gaara was staring, because he turned to him, smiled and waved quickly, before looking back at the fight. What Naruto didn't notice, was that Sasuke had glared when he waved at Gaara.

At that point, Gaara remembered exactly what Baki-sensei had told him earlier that day.

"_Gaara," He called out. It was early in the morning, so early that the sun hadn't even come out yet, and Temari and Kankuro were still sleeping, Gaara was eating breakfast, waiting for his siblings to wake up. It was a common thing, for him to eat early, because he didn't like eating with others._

When Baki called his name, he looked up from his meal, acknowledging him without words.

"We have a change in plans. Otogakure is abandoning their attack on Konoha." Gaara raised one of his non-existing eyebrows at this, wondering where exactly Baki was getting at.

"And what is the reason you are telling me this?" Gaara asked.

_"Because, we have our own plan for attacking Konoha. You will attack the jinchuriki of this village, Uzumaki Naruto." Baki said slowly, wondering why Gaara had frozen at the mention of Naruto's name._

"But that is not all, Gaara. You will also end his life during the fights."

By the time Gaara had finished his 'flash back' he saw that Tenten and Ino had already finished their fight, and Ino had won. She had used her jutsu to get into Tenten's mind and as Tenten, she forfeited. He watched as her teammate Lee, and sensei, Gai comforted her. It would have been nice…if Temari and Kankuro did that…but it was a lost cause. They were both deathly afraid of him.

"Yes! Nice one Ino!" Chouji cheered as his teammate walked back to her team. Shikamaru was leaning lazily against the railing, and he nod his head at her, acknowledging that she had won. Asuma placed his hands on her shoulders and congratulated her for beating a second year Genin.

"The second round of the preliminaries will be against Aburame Shino of Konoha, and Tayuya of Oto." Hayate said, finishing his sentence with a cough, which made Gaara briefly wonder _why_Hayate coughed so much.

Tayuya's left eye twitched as she watched a few bugs crawl up her opponents body. Why did she have to be paired up with someone who uses bugs? What kind of clan was that anyway, to use bugs to their advantage? It was too weird, in her opinion. How could someone sleep at night with bugs crawling all over them?

Tayuya was deathly afraid of bugs, but she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her battle.

Hayate stood in between the two, and waved his hand down, signaling the start of their fight. Slowly and cautiously, Tayuya reached for her flute, and brought it to her lips. Once her eyes fell upon it, however, she screamed and dropped it. It fell to the floor and broke apart, bugs crawling out from the broken pieces.

"You fucking jerk!" She screamed out at Shino, who simply stood his ground.

"So I was correct, you are frightened of bugs." He replied calmly. He could tell she was a powerful kunoichi, but everyone has his or her own fears and weaknesses. Luckily, for Shino, Tayuya's fear is bugs. And that made his fight a whole lot easier. Of course, he was well prepared to actually fight if he really had to, but Shino had the feeling that Tayuya would be too afraid of the bugs to continue.

"Shut up! You think you're so tough, huh? Well, we'll see about that!"

The 'fight' went on for about five minutes, before Tayuya was shaking with fear. She was strong, fearless, but she couldn't stand small bugs crawling all over her skin, her hair. It was just too much for her.

Naruto leaned against the railing, watching as Sakura walked into the battle arena. Naruto would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit frightened. Gaara told him that Kankuro, his elder brother used puppets. Sure, Sakura was strong, but would she really be able to defeat Kankuro?

Naruto turned his head over to Gaara, who was gazing down at the fight, emotionless. He felt Naruto's deep blue eyes bore into his skin, but he couldn't look at him…he just couldn't.

'Gaara.' He could almost hear Naruto call out to him…He wanted to look over to see Naruto's smiling face…but he couldn't. This is what happens whenever he was attached to someone! First, it was Yashamaru, but he killed himself…He didn't want Naruto to die…he didn't want to kill him! He didn't want to hate anymore!

Gaara closed his eyes and walked away, ignoring the calls from his sister and sensei.

"Gaara?" Naruto called out, but no one heard him. They were all too interested in the fight going on below them. Sasuke was the only one who noticed, and he narrowed his eyes in anger, as the young blond ran out after his friend.

Slowly, Sasuke moved as well, to follow the blond, and yell at him for leaving, but Kakashi grabbed his wrist, and held it tightly, disallowing the raven to leave.

"Stay here, Sasuke. Let Naruto be. He's growing up, and you need to let him do so. He won't be like this forever. He needs to learn to be independent." Kakashi said, as he let Sasuke's wrist slip from his grip.

Sasuke's eyes widened as his mind consumed Kakashi's words. Naruto was getting older, and he was slowly slipping out of Sasuke's hold. He was slowly making new friends. People that Sasuke didn't want to be around. Even Sakura, the girl who used to hate him began to care for him now. He was moving away from the raven everyday, and it was just a matter of time before he slipped away for good.

"No," Sasuke whispered to himself as he clenched his fists, looking down at Hayate, who was declaring how Sakura had won the battle against Kankuro. The pink-haired kunoichi was smiling brightly, but her smile disappeared as she looked up and didn't see Naruto. She saw only Sasuke, who looked like he was going to explode with anger.

"I will never let Naruto go. He's going to suffer through the same pain I went through…Even after Itachi is dead I will not let him go! Because…we are going to die together. Even if it is not your time to die, you will die with me."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Gaara!" Naruto called out, running towards his red-haired friend. It seemed that Gaara didn't hear him, so Naruto ran faster, and yelled louder, hoping to catch the elder boys attention.

"What have I done wrong? Is he angry with me?" Naruto asked himself as he sped up, but he stopped when a large wall of sand stood before him. There was a small hole in it, and from that, Naruto could see Gaara walking away. He hadn't turned around at all, but Naruto knew that Gaara heard him. The Suna-nin had put the wall up on purpose, to block him out.

"No, Gaara! Wait!" Naruto called out, punching through the wall of sand. He winced slightly as the small grains of sand cut through his skin, but he ignored the pain as he punched through the wall. He had to get to Gaara! He had to figure out what was wrong, and why Gaara seemed to be mad at him.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Sasuke walked out of the battle area, almost completely untouched. Kin wasn't much of an opponent. It seemed that many of the shinobi's from Oto weren't much of an opponent. Shino beat Tayuya easily. Was the village some sort of joke, a fluke? Who did the village leader think he was, brining some genin here? They were being beaten excessively easily. Too easy.

**XOXOXOXOXO****  
><strong>  
>"GAARA!" Naruto yelled out once again, and Gaara turned around to see Naruto right behind him, blood dripping from his hands. Did the young blond actually break through the wall of sand? It…it couldn't have been!<p>

"Naruto, what have you done to yourself?" Gaara asked, avoiding Naruto's eyes. He looked at the blonds bloodied hands. They were healing slowly, thanks to the Kyuubi, but that was beyond the point.

"Why are you ignoring me? What did I ever do to you? I just want to be your friend! Is…is there something wrong with that?" Naruto asked slowly. He knew Sasuke didn't want him to be friends with Gaara, but the red-head desperately needed a friend. He needed someone to care for him, someone that smiled at him, and said 'hello'. He needed someone to talk to, or even to spend some time with.

"No, but perhaps you should get back. I'm sure you'd like to see how your friend fairs against my brother. And Sasuke is soon after that, is he not? Don't you want to see how your friends will do?" Gaara responded.

"No! She'll do fine, and so will Sasuke-san. It's you I'm worried about." Naruto said, frowning. Gaara would have winced, but he let it pass. Frowning was so…unbecoming of the blond. He looked much better when he smiled!

"You shouldn't get too close to me, Naruto. Do you remember what I do to remind myself that I am alive? I kill people. I'm a murderer." He had to get away. He couldn't get more attached to Naruto than he already was, because he was supposed to kill him, but either way, he wasn't going to do it. He already felt something towards the little boy. He just didn't know what it was yet.

"I…I know…but…I kind of understand. You grew up alone and hated, right Gaara? I can kind of share your pain a little. I was adopted when I was three, and my family died when I was seven. But even when I had a family, it still didn't stop people from looking at me with hatred, and it still doesn't stop them now. And you have family, you have people that care about you. You have Temari, and Kankuro. You even have your sensei!" Naruto announced, hoping to get through to Gaara.

"My siblings fear me." The redhead replied.

"That's only because they have a reason to fear you. You don't let them in. If you let them get passed your mask, they won't fear you anymore. And even if they fear you, that doesn't mean they don't love you. Family is family, regardless." Naruto finished, smiling.

"I suppose so, Naruto." Gaara replied, emotionless. By the tone of his voice, Naruto wasn't sure whether or not the words got through to him, but either way, it had to be said.

"But you...You must learn to be braver when it comes to dealing with Sasuke." Gaara began. He wanted to speak to Naruto about this earlier, but he wasn't really a person who said much to others. And he could never give advice, but right now, it felt like everything was flowing out.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brows and cocking his head slightly, in confusion.

"I mean you should not let him walk all over you. I know you're stronger than that."

"Strength doesn't matter. I just want Sasuke-san to be happy. I'm trying so hard to make him happy. I want to see him smile again, and I want that smile directed towards me. It's what I strive for, aside from being Hokage. I want to see Sasuke's smile again."

"Gaara," A voice called out, and the two, young boys turned to the voice. Baki, Gaara's sensei was walking to them, a serious look in his eyes.

"What is it?" Gaara snapped. He walked over so he was standing in front of Naruto, almost like he was protecting him. Baki had mentioned that he wanted Gaara to kill Naruto, so Gaara was being cautious, because if he really wanted to, right now would be the perfect time to kill Naruto, because no one was around.

"I need to talk to you, alone."

Naruto knew what that meant. He waved goodbye to Gaara and walked back towards the arena, not looking back as Gaara watched him walk away.

"Can you really do all that by yourself? Even if it kills you in the end? Would you honestly kill yourself to see Sasuke smile one more time?"

**XOXOXOXOXO**

By the time Naruto got back to the battle arena, they were up to fight number seven, which was between Neji of Konoha, and Nadare of Yuki. Sasuke had won his fight against Kin, Shikamaru won against Fubuki, and Hinata won against Chouji.

Naruto didn't know anything about Neji, aside from the fact that he was Hinata's cousin, and he wasn't a rookie. Therefore, he really didn't care much for the battle. What he really wanted to see was Gaara versus Lee. Naruto knew Lee was going to be a tough opponent, but he wondered if Lee would be able to make it passed Gaara's sand. Now that would be an intense battle!

"Naruto, where did you run off to?" Sasuke asked, enraged, as Naruto stood beside him.

"I…went to the bathroom." Naruto responded slowly, looking up into Sasuke's dark eyes. Surely Sasuke would believe him, right?

"For twenty minutes? I doubt you take that long. Where were you really doing? And you better not lie, because you know what lies can do to you." Sasuke warned, narrowing his eyes in anger. Sakura was at the hospital, getting her wounds tended to, and Kakashi was…well, who knows. Nevertheless, it didn't really matter, because Sasuke wanted to get Naruto alone, anyway.

"Come with me." He said, grasping tightly onto Naruto's wrist, dragging him away from the fight. Gaara and Lee were walking onto the stage, preparing to fight.

"No! I want to watch Gaara's fight! NO! Let me go, bastard!" Naruto struggled as Sasuke led him away.

Sasuke froze in pure shock. Did….did Naruto just call him a bastard? No…Naruto wouldn't do that. Not after everything Sasuke had punished him for!

"What did you call me?" Sasuke asked slowly, anger lacing each and every one of his words. He tightened the grip on Naruto's wrist, causing the blond to wince in pain and attempt to pull away, as Sasuke dragged him away.

"I said I wanted to watch Gaara fight!" Naruto replied. He wasn't going to repeat what he really said, because he was shocked at himself for saying it in the first place! And he knew Sasuke would be pissed if he said it again, and Naruto didn't like when Sasuke was mad.

"No, after that." Sasuke explained, shoving the younger boy up against a wall. Everyone was watching the fight between Gaara and Lee, so the two boys were alone.

"Nothing! I said nothing! Now let me go, you're hurting my wrist, and I need it when I fight!" Naruto responded. He didn't want Sasuke to be mad at him.

"Tch, would you like me to punish you again, like last night? I enjoyed it, so it will be fine for me. I wouldn't mind doing to again." Sasuke smirked, tracing Naruto's lips with the tips of his fingers. Naruto's mouth felt so good. He wanted more of it, but he felt as though other parts of the blonds body would feel even better. He could already feel himself getting hard, thinking of what Naruto's body could do to him, and how it would make him feel.

"N…no…I didn't like that…and…my throat is sore now. And…that stuff didn't taste good." Naruto responded, blushing ever so slightly, not even knowing why he was blushing in the first place.

"Oh? Is it because you took so much of me in? Well, Naruto, there is another part of you that can take me in. Would you like to try it that way?" Sasuke asked, watching Naruto's innocent blue eyes widen slightly in confusion. Of course, the ten-year old would have no clue what he was talking about.

"What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about. What other part?" Naruto responded after a few moments of silence.

"You shall see, Naruto. You shall see."

It was some time before Sasuke and Naruto made their way back towards the arena. Naruto figured it was because Sasuke didn't want him to watch Gaara's fight against Lee. Naruto knew that Sasuke was jealous of Gaara, but he didn't really know why. Naruto loved Sasuke, unconditionally, so Naruto didn't understand why Sasuke was jealous. It wasn't as if Gaara would take Naruto away from Sasuke.

"Hn, it looks as though your fight is next, dobe," Sasuke announce, looking up at the board that showed Naruto's name, and his opponent, Kidomaru of Oto was already standing there. Naruto, of course, wasn't completely sure if he'd be able to fight the elder shinobi.

"Naruto, if you know what's good for you, you better defeat him." Sasuke bent forward and whispered the threat into his ear, causing the hairs on the back of Naruto's to stand up. A shiver went up his spine as he walked into the arena. He wasn't thinking about his own fight, or Kiba's (who was next, and last). He was thinking about the fight between Lee and Gaara, and he was wondering how it went. Did Gaara win? Surely he did, because even though Lee is a very strong opponent, would the Taijutsu user be able to get passed Gaara's sand barrier?

To everyone's shock, Naruto did in fact, beat Kidomaru, using a jutsu that only Uchiha's were supposed to know. Katon: Gôkakyû no Jutsu (2). It took Kidomaru, as well as everyone by surprise, and Kidomaru was thrown back several feet, hitting his head on the wall, successfully knocking him out. The next fight, Kiba versus Sakon was very close, but in the end, Sakon had won, leaving Kiba unconscious.

The fights now completed, Hayate made his way onto the stage, to announce the winners, and explain what would be happening.

"Congratulations to all those who have made it thus far. And for those who haven't, better luck next time. Now, before I explain what will be going on, I must announce everyone who will be competing in the next fights. Yamanka Ino of Konoha, Aburame Shino of Konoha, Haruno Sakura of Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha, Nara Shikamaru of Konoha, Hyuuga Hinata of Konoha, Hyuuga Neji of Konoha, Temari of Suna, Zaku of Oto, Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, and finally, Sakon or Oto. Once again, on behalf of Konoha, we congratulate you!"

"What? What about Gaara! And Lee! They…they both lost? What happened? Kakashi-sensei, what happened to fuzzy-brows and Gaara?" Naruto asked, in panic, hoping his friend was alright.

"Something I've never seen before. They fought, and Gaara had the upper hand. But…something was distracted him completely. He beat Lee, but just as Lee passed out, Gaara forfeited the match. Because Lee had already passed out, they both lost," Kakashi explained.

"Forfeited? No! I have to find him!" Naruto exclaimed, getting ready to leave, but Kakashi caught his wrist, forcing him to stay.

"No, you have to listen to what Hayate has to say, and then you can go find your friend," Kakashi replied, letting go of the young boy's wrist. Kakashi noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Sasuke looked angry. He had his fists clenched and his eyes were looking downward.

'No…you're not going anywhere, Naruto. You're not going to go see Gaara. I'm not letting you out of my sight! I have to strengthen my hold on you.' Sasuke thought.

"No, Naruto. Leave Gaara alone for now. I know you're worried about him, but there is something different about Suna,"

"But, I need to find him!" Naruto said, trying to pull away from his sensei's grasp.

"But not yet, you need to listen to Hayate, to hear who you will be fighting next," Kakashi replied.

"Since there is an odd number of genin left, one will have to fight twice. We have picked the fights anonymously, and they are as follows: Fight one: Uchiha Sasuke against Hyuuga Hinata. Fight two: Nara Shikamaru versus Temari. Fight Three: Yamanaka Ino versus Haruno Sakura. Fight four: Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji. Fight five: Aburame Shino versus Zaku. Whoever wins the fifth fight, will fight against Sakon in the sixth fight. And just because someone loses a fight does not mean they cannot become a chuunin. We judge by the way you fight, and we analyze your strategies. Be back here in one months time! Good luck!" Hayate announced, walking off the arena.

"Hyuuga Hinata?" Sasuke whispered to himself. He knew of her. She was (obviously) from the Hyuuga clan, and she was the heir. After her father, she would be the new clan head. Years ago, before the slaughter of his clan, there was small talk that Sasuke would marry Hinata one day. But he was never interested in her. He hated how weak she was, and she hated how pathetically shy she was. There was also one particular thing that Sasuke noticed about Hinata.

She had a crush on Naruto.

And Sasuke didn't like that.

* * *

><p>(1) These three are from the first Naruto movie. They play no role in this. I just needed some extra characters and don't like OCs, so I used them<p>

(2) Fugaku taught that to Naruto!

So there's actually only about four chapters, and then there will be a time jump, and this story will actually quicken in pace.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know please!

OH! If anyone could suggest a picture to use for this, that'd be amazing!


	17. Training

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

_Near_ rape in this chapter.

And to clarify, Naruto is eleven and the rest of the rookies are thirteen.

* * *

><p>"Ah! I wanted to fight now! I can take on Neji! Why aren't we going to fight now?" Naruto asked, as team seven (minus Sakura) made their way out of the building where the preliminary matches were held. Kakashi had agreed to take them to Ichiraku Ramen, and he said he would pay (of course, once the bill came, he would leave, just as he did all too often).<p>

"Don't be stupid, we need to prepare." Sasuke said.

'Although, I don't need to train to beat her.' Sasuke added in as an afterthought.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"What! But, that's not fair, Kakashi-sensei! How can you just train Sasuke-san, and not me and Sakura-chan? Who am I supposed to train with? And what about Sakura-san? Who is she supposed to train with? We're your students too!" Naruto asked, pouting. He had asked Kakashi the next day to train him for his upcoming match with Neji, but the elder shinobi declined, and told him that he was already going off to train with Sasuke for the month.

"I have a specific technique I'd like to teach him. I have someone else in mind for you. Someone I think you will get alone quite well with." Kakashi offered, smiling. He felt a bit guilty for abandoning Naruto like this, but the other man who was going to train him would be much better. Plus, Kakashi felt the need to split Sasuke and Naruto up for a little while. Kakashi wanted to try to talk to Sasuke again about the way he treats Naruto.

"But…but what about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Sakura was going to be fighting too, so that meant she needed to train as well.

"She sought out training from someone else, she'll be perfectly fine. She said she'd rather train with that person, then me anyway." Kakashi replied.

"Eh? Who?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about that, Naruto. As for who is training you, meet him at the Konoha gates tomorrow at dawn."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Gaara, I still don't understand _why_you made me lose that match on purpose. I could have easily defeated her. She wasn't even that strong." Kankuro stated, angry. He wanted to beat the pink-haired kunoichi from Konoha, and make it to the final round, so he could become a chuunin. However, Gaara had come up to him moments before his fight, and told him to throw the match and let her win. Kankuro didn't dare protest.

"Do you question me, Kankuro?" Gaara asked. His voice calm, but held a bit of malice.

"N…no! Of course not! But…do you know that she's sparring with Temari? They've gotten close and I don't even know why." Kankuro replied, somewhat regretting the words that had escaped his mouth. Temari was getting close to Sakura, while Gaara had gotten extremely close to Naruto. It wasn't supposed to happen that way…Konoha was their enemy, and here were the Kazekage's children, making friends with Konoha-nins.

"I've noticed." Gaara replied, not truly caring about it.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"What do you mean he's with someone else? I never gave him permission to train with another person!" Sasuke stated angrily, as he met Kakashi for training the next day. When he left, Naruto was already gone, and it looked like he packed and would be away for the entire month.

"I've found someone that will train him for his match against Hyuuga Neji. Training one on one is sometimes best, especially in this case." Kakashi replied, not effected by Sasuke's glares.

"I don't care. Go find him!" Sasuke demanded.

"Ahh, sorry Sasuke-kun, that is quite impossible at the moment."

"What? How come?"

"Because he already left. He left at dawn, so I'm sure he's far away by now."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"So you've asked me to train Uzumaki Naruto, eh Kakashi?" A tall, long-haired figure asked no one in particular as he leaned against the gate that led outside of Konoha. When Hatake Kakashi had approached him, and asked him to train one of his students, he was slightly surprised. Didn't Kakashi want to teach his own students? Didn't he want to train them for the chuunin exams?

"Ah, well, we shall how this turns out, ne?"

**XOXOXOXOXO**

When Naruto approached the gates of Konoha at noon, like Kakashi told him, he expected to see a young, jounin instructor, or even perhaps and ANBU member to train him. The last thing he expected to see was some old, gray-haired, perverted man looking at the woman who were casually passing around.

"OI! Are you the one who's supposed to be training me?" Naruto asked, causing the old man to grunt and turn towards him, a bit angry that the little boy had interrupted him while he was looking at the ladies.

'Naruto?' Jiraiya asked himself, his eyes widening slightly. Here was his Godson standing in front of him, all grown up (well, not really grown up, but big!).

"So you must be Uzumaki Naruto, eh, brat?" He asked. He didn't know Naruto was so small! He knew Naruto was two years younger than the rest of the rookie nine, but he didn't expect him to be such a runt! But Jiraiya wasn't going to be biased. Kakashi said that the kid would be strong with training, so who was Jiraiya to base anything off of Naruto just because he was so small? He was Minato's son, after all, so he had to be strong.

"Yup! And I'm no brat, so don't call me that! Who are you, exactly? Kakashi-sensei said I was going to be trained by one of the three Sannin of Konoha. How can that be you? You're so old!" Naruto complained. He wanted to get stronger! And this guy looked too old to be a ninja…He didn't really look like anything special, either.

"You're one to talk, kid. I may not look like much, but believe me, it'll be worth it to be trained by me. Don't be so quick to judge people upon their appearances. By looking at you, you just seem like a runt of the litter who will get no where, but I am wrong, am I not, Naruto?" Jiraiya questioned, and Naruto shrugged in response. The old man was right…

"Yeah, well…_Sorry_!" Naruto responded.

"It's fine, brat. Ready to go?" He asked. Naruto smiled in excitement and followed Jiraiya to the gate. Before shutting the gates behind them, Naruto took one last look at his home and smiled.

"Sasuke-san, I'll miss you! But when I come back, I'll be loads stronger!" And they were gone.

**XOXOXOXOXO  
><strong>  
>"Sasuke, stop it! You can only do one for now! You've reached your limit! If you push yourself anymore, you're going to pass out! Stop it now, unless you want me to cut your training two weeks early!" At this, Sasuke paused in creating a strange, lightning based jutsu.<p>

It had taken Sasuke two weeks to learn the jutsu, and he could only perform it once a day, whereas, Kakashi could do it much more. It angered him, because he wanted power, and he didn't want to have to work for it. He wanted to learn it right away, no waiting, no resting. He had to gain power quickly, to kill Itachi. Then again, he also had Naruto. The blond boy had gone off the train with the great Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha. So surely Naruto would get stronger! And soon enough, Sasuke would be able to take Naruto, and the two would leave Konoha, to find Itachi and kill him. Sasuke hadn't really planned out what to do afterwards, but all he knew was that he'd desert Naruto. Whether he'd kill the boy or not, Sasuke hadn't decided yet. He figured that when the time came, he'd decide.

"Sasuke, I think it's time to head back home for today. Same place, same time tomorrow. Rest up, because we're going to try to do two chidori, tomorrow, ja!" Kakashi said, saluting the young teen, before poofing away.

Sasuke fell backwards onto the grass, closing his eyes as he remembered a time when he and Naruto used to run through the grass.

"_Sasuke, Sasuke! Come on!" Five year-old Naruto giggled, calling out to his seven year-old brother as he ran to get away from him. They two were playing tag, and Sasuke was 'it'._

"Ha! You think you can get away from me, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled jokingly, chasing after the blond. Naruto yelled as Sasuke caught up to him, and jumped on top of him. He playfully straddled the young boy, and began tickling him, enjoying hearing his little brother laugh and try to get away from the hands that were poking at his ribs.

"Sa…Sasuke, okay! You won! Haha, let go, please?" Naruto laughed, barely able to talk because of Sasuke's hands.

"Hn, you bet I win! I always win, Naruto," He smiled, getting off the blond and hugging him tightly.

"Ah, I love you Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eyes flew open as he sat up. Naruto still said those words. He still told Sasuke that he loved him, and he still stuck by him, even after all the beatings an harsh words. Even after the dirty looks and the near-rape, Naruto still stuck by him.

"No," Sasuke shook his head. What he was doing to Naruto…it wasn't wrong! Sasuke blamed Naruto for the death of his clan, and Naruto was paying the price. That's what Sasuke had to keep telling himself, because the guilt, although small, was slowly starting to eat away at his heart.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"You've gotten a lot stronger than when I first met you. You have a lot of ambition, and all you need to do is apply it to your training. I will leave it all up to you, now. Good luck on everything, Sakura," Temari said, bowing slightly as she turned away from the pink-haired girl.

"Yes, Temari! I'll get stronger, that's a promise! Good luck to you too!" She wanted to get strong. She wanted to be at par with Sasuke and Naruto! she didn't want them to get ahead of her, because she was afraid that she would lose them. But most of all, she was afraid that she'd lose Naruto because of Sasuke's harshness towards him.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Ero-sennin! I told you I could do it! And it only took me three weeks…instead of the whole month, like you said! And I got the summoning fast too!" Naruto boasted. The first thing Jiraiya had taught him, was how to summon frogs. Which Naruto was bit confused about. He had no idea what frogs could do in a fight, but decided to go with it. It took Naruto a few days before he got it correctly, and was able to summon Gamabunta. The next thing Jiraiya taught him, was something called 'rasengan'. Jiraiya had said that it would take Naruto a month, maybe more, to learn it. He wasn't sure if Naruto would learn it by the Chuunin exams, but he did, and it amazed Jiraiya.

Sure, the blond still had a little trouble with the rasengan, but he still got it, none the less.

"Oi! Ero-sennin! Are you even listening to me?" Naruto asked, poking at the man, but Jiraiya wasn't listening. Instead, he was watching the woman in the bath house through a hole in the wall.

"Hmm, if you wanted to see a naked woman, you should have asked!" Naruto said, forming the hand seals, and shouting 'Sexy no jutsu'. When Jiraiya heard the 'poof', he turned around and gasped, and the naked, female form of Naruto.

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that, earlier, brat?" He asked, there was a poof, and Naruto turned back into his normal, very male, self.

"You never asked." He shrugged, making his way back towards the hotel they were staying at.

"Wait, hold on, brat! Can you do that again, for me?" Jiraiya yelled, catching up to the young blond, who, in return, laughed, and ran towards the hotel.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Ahh, fuck," Sasuke moaned, running his right hand up and down his hardened erection quickly, while his left hand massaged his balls. He tightened his hand and quickened his pace as he closed his eyes, imagining it was the blue-eyed blond dobe who was doing this to him. It was Naruto's mouth on his dick…no…not his mouth…Something more…something deeper and tighter…

"Ahh!" Sasuke moaned, cumming onto his hand. Some of the white substance dripped off his hand and into the toilet.

'Yes…I want more than his mouth this time," He said, flushing the toilet. He walked over to the sink and rinsed off the cum, drying his hands when he was done.

"And Naruto has to do whatever it is I say, so he'll have no problem giving his innocence to me." Sasuke smirked. There was only three more days until the Chuunin exams, and from what Kakashi had said, Naruto would be back tomorrow, giving Sasuke plenty of time to decide how, exactly, he was going to take the blond.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Naruto smiled as he and Jiraiya walked through the gates of Konoha. After almost an entire month, he was finally back home! And it felt great. He missed Konoha greatly. He missed Sasuke too, and Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei! He couldn't wait until the Chuunin exams came, so he could show them how much he progressed, and see how much they progressed as well.

"See you soon, brat!" Jiraiya said as they parted ways. It was around noon, by Naruto wanted to go home and see Sasuke, before he ate anything. He missed Sasuke dearly, more than he ever would have guessed.

"Oi! Sasuke-san, I'm home!" Naruto shouted throughout the house as he closed the door behind him.

"Sasuke?" He called out again as he walked up the stairs and into his room. He dropped his bag on his bed and walked over to Sasuke's room, perhaps the raven was sleeping?

'Hmm, he's not here…I guess he's out training!' Naruto told himself, as his stomach growled. He laughed and rubbed his stomach gently. He'd go eat at Ichiraku's, and then he'd go search the village for Sasuke.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"You know Naruto has returned, right Sasuke? Why don't you go and visit him? I'm sure he missed you." Kakashi said, dodging the kunai that was thrown at him. It was four o'clock, and Naruto had returned at noon, but Sasuke didn't seem phased at all.

"Tch, I'll see him later tonight." Sasuke replied, hiding the smirk, but Kakashi caught it. Something was up with Sasuke, but Kakashi couldn't quite place his finger on it.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Naruto had passed out on his bed, exhausted from his training and the trip home. Naruto was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of the wonderful things to come tomorrow. He hadn't seen Sasuke yet, but he was sure that he'd see him in the morning, because Sasuke usually woke him up so he could make breakfast for him. However, it all came to a halt when he felt someone shaking him. He opened his eyes and sat up slightly, gazing into Sasuke's dark eyes.

"Sasuke-san, what are you doing here so late? Aren't you tired? Are you here to say hello to me? Did you just get in? I missed you!" Naruto said as he rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of his weariness. Sasuke responded by pulling the covers off the blond, causing Naruto to bring his knee's to his chest, hoping to get warmer. He briefly wondered why Sasuke had stolen his blanket.

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto called out again, wondering why Sasuke wasn't answering him.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke ordered as he reached forward and began to unbutton the buttons on Naruto's light blue nightshirt. Naruto, in shock placed his hand upon Sasuke's, temporarily stopping him from his task.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Naruto asked, confused at Sasuke's strange actions. The only times that Sasuke came into his room at night was to get a blowjob from the blond. But Sasuke never made Naruto undress, too.

"I said shut up!" Sasuke repeated, pushing away Naruto's small hand and successfully unbuttoning the final button before ripping Naruto's shirt off, throwing it to the side. Naruto blushed ever so slightly. They had seen each other naked before, but Sasuke was never staring at him as he was in this moment. It was weird and made Naruto want to cover himself up.

He looked up at Sasuke, a bit surprised to see that he was panting and sweating slightly. His face was also very flushed. What had the teen been doing to make him look so troubled? The last time Sasuke looked so flustered was before he had gotten a blowjob from the blond. Was that what Sasuke wanted this time?

Sasuke reached forward and hooked his fingers on Naruto's pants and boxers, pulling them down in one harsh tug, wanting to rid the boy of the annoying pajamas. Once done, Sasuke pulled off his own boxers and threw them to the side. It was all he wore at night, because he liked to be comfortable when he slept. He thought it was pointless to wear pants and a shirt.

"Sasuke-san?" Naruto called out, becoming slightly frightened. After spending some time with Jiraiya, he knew about sex…because the man oh-so-thoughtfully explained it to him, while Naruto blushed throughout the whole explanation. But that wasn't what Sasuke wanted, right? Weren't they too young? Naruto knew that Sasuke had gone through puberty…but Naruto hadn't yet…So…what was Sasuke doing to him right now?

Sasuke leaned forward and pressed his weight upon Naruto's, grinding against him, so his hardness was thrusting against Narutos' slightly muscled thigh. A normal eleven year old would have some slight baby fat. However, Naruto, who had been training since he was very young, was slightly muscled. Although he wasn't muscled as much as Sasuke or anyone else within the rookie nine (because the were all two years older), Naruto was a bit more muscled than an average eleven year old, mostly due to Sasuke pushing him so hard.

Sasuke took Naruto's face in his hands and slowly licked his cheek, his tongue tracing the whisker marks, one by one, before moving over to do the same to the other side. They felt slightly bumpy, and the only way to be able to feel them, would be to close your eyes, or concentrate very hard. The whiskers had become apart of Naruto, and no longer stuck out on his skin like when he was a young child.

Naruto whimpered slightly when he felt something hard brush against his thigh. He looked down to find out what it was, and was shocked to see it was Sasuke's penis. It looked hard and rigid. How was Sasuke getting turned on by simply brushing up against him? It was strange. Naruto had noticed many things while training with Jiraiya. One was that the pervert got slightly turned on when he saw a woman running or moving around. His eyes always concentrated on her breasts and the up and down movements, they made. Jiraiya never paid any attention to men, except for the single picture of a man he kept with him at all times. Naruto didn't know who the man was, because he had only gotten a quick glimpse of the picture. The only thing he saw were the mans eyes, which were an eerie yellow color.

Sasuke pulled back and looked at Naruto, whose breathing was slightly erratic. Whether from fear, nervousness, or confusion, Sasuke didn't know. Nor did he really care. His gaze lingered on Naruto for quite some time, making the little blond-haired boy uncomfortable.

All of a sudden, Naruto felt the need to cover himself up. He felt exposed…and for the first time ever, he felt that he could not trust Sasuke. Growing up, even after their family was killed, Naruto always felt that he could always trust Sasuke, even after all the times Sasuke had hurt him. And it was all because Naruto knew, deep down inside, that Sasuke still cared for him, still loved him, and that alone kept Naruto stronger than any one else in this particular predicament would have been.

"Sasuke-san, what-" He began, trying to get Sasuke to talk to him, to explain what he was doing. Maybe Sasuke was going to do something that he'd like? Naruto didn't know, and that was why he wanted to hear Sasuke talk to him, to reassure him that it was all going to be okay.

"Shhh," Sasuke whispered, pushing one of Naruto's thin legs against his chest. He backed up slightly, so he was on the balls of his feet. Naruto tried to sit up, but Sasuke held him steady. He looked down at Naruto's entrance, and then at his own member. Was it really going to fit inside of the blond? The entrance was small, very small and it looked tight. Sasuke knew he was going to hurt the blond. From what he had heard, sex always hurt at first, especially when there was no preparation. But he knew, for himself, it would feel amazing.

"Sas-"

"Shut up!" He yelled back at the terrified blond.

"No! Tell me what you're doing first!" Naruto said, his voice holding slight anger. He sounded different, braver. Could spending only one month with Jiraiya really have changed him this much? Slowly, Naruto pulled away from, Sasuke, and pulled his legs to his chest, covering up his exposed body.

"What has gotten into you?" Sasuke asked, grabbing Naruto's ankle, in attempt to pull his legs down again, but Naruto retaliated by kicking Sasuke in the forehead. This caught the Uchiha by surprise, and he fell off onto the floor. This gave Naruto the opportunity to throw on his boxers, covering himself up slightly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't say no to me!" Sasuke growled, getting up from the bed. He suddenly felt dizzy, and had to grip onto the dresser nearby so he wouldn't fall.

'Damn, his kicked a lot harder than I thought he would. Maybe a little too hard…I'm dizzy,' Sasuke thought, rubbing his forehead with his free hand in attempts to soothe his pain and dizziness.

"Ye…yes I can! We need to get some sleep! The exams are tomorrow and we cant be tired! So…go to sleep, alright Sasuke-san? I love you." Naruto said. He felt awful, because he could see that Sasuke was in pain, but he had to stop him! He let Sasuke do a lot of things...but he wouldn't let him take advantage like that.

The month with Jiraiya had changed him drastically. Jiraiya knew what was happening between the two boys, and he knew that Minato wouldn't want his son to be weak, and let someone walk all over him. Along with teaching Naruto rasengan, he also taught Naruto that it was okay to stand up for himself. Jiraiya knew it was going to take a while, much more than a month, but he'd help fix the blond.

Jiraiya knew it would take more than a month to change Naruto's outlook, which is exactly why he came up with a plan.

"Fine, dobe, we won't do this now, but I'll warn you, when it happens, it's going to be so much worse, and so much more painful," Sasuke said as he walked out of the blonds room, leaving him completely alone in the darkness.

**The Next Day**

"H...hello Na…Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered, blushing as Naruto and Sasuke walked into the waiting room. Hinata and Neji were already there as well as the rest of the genin who were going to be fighting in the final matches. Temari was standing with Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura, talking calmly. Temari and Sakura had been training together, and had grown close. There was also rumor that Temari and Shikamaru went on a date, but no one was exactly sure, and when anyone asked Shikamaru, he'd reply by saying 'Tch, troublesome' Ino had forgiven Sakura, and while they were friends again, there were still slight complications, but they would be worked out in the end. Shino was standing with Neji and Hinata, staying silent, while Zaku and Sakon were standing together in the corner.

"Hi Hinata!" Naruto stated cheerfully.

"Are you excited about your match!" He asked, smiling, completely oblivious of the glare Sasuke was giving them. He was nice to everyone, and had no clue that Hinata liked him.

"We…well, Sor…sort of! Wh…what ab…about y...you?" She asked, barely able to talk.

"Yes! I can't wait! Good luck against Sasuke-san! I know you'll do well!" He said, smiling, causing the young Hyuuga heiress to smile and blush deeper in response.

"Go…good luck to…to you too…Na…Naruto-kun," She said as Sasuke and Naruto walked away from her, taking a seat at one of the nearby tables.

'I'll kill her.' Sasuke thought, glaring at Hinata. He didn't like the way she smiled or blushed at Naruto. It made Sasuke so…angry…and it made him want to do something to the girl. Something cruel.

'Hn, she won't make a good shinobi, anyway.' He smirked.

After about thirty minutes, the Genins were called to meet in the ring. There, their names were announced and everyone (except Hinata and Sasuke) was told to take their seats so the match could begin.

"First fight of the final matches: Hyuuga Hinata versus Uchiha Sasuke, begin!" Hayate announced, taking quite a few steps back, so he could watch the fight from a safe distance.

Naruto sat on the sidelines, with Ino, Temari, and Sakura. Shino stood with Kiba, who had come to watch his female teammate fight. There were many of his other friends around too, scattered about.

The fight had begun with both ninja's activating their bloodline. For the first few moments, everything was normal. Hinata punched, kicked, and Sasuke dodged, but it seemed…fake…at least on Sasuke's part. It made everyone wonder what Sasuke was doing. They knew he had the potential to beat her, but he was doing anything. Then, he looked up into the audience and caught Naruto's eye, smirking before getting serious with Hinata.

The fight was over in less than a minute, with Hinata bleeding and unconscious on the floor. Naruto watched the whole match, wide-eyed. Sasuke went all out on her, even though he didn't have to. He was rough and still beat her even after she was down and out. He had done it all on purpose. The fight had ended with Sasuke ramming Hinata in the back with something he called 'chidori'. It was something Kakashi had taught him in the month that they had trained together.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke! We'll take a two minute break to clean up a bit, and then the next match will commence!" Hayate announced as a group of med-nin took Hinata off the ring, and brought her to the hospital. At this time, Sasuke made his way up to the stadium, to sit with Naruto, who had saved him a seat.

"Hello, _dobe_." Sasuke smirked, taking a seat next to Naruto. Shino and Kiba had gone to the hospital to see how Hinata was doing, and if she had been seriously injured.

"Sasuke! You hurt her on purpose!" Naruto cried out.

"Tch, it's called a fight for a reason. I did what I had to, to win."

"But…she was down! And you still hurt her. How can you do that? She was completely defenseless!" Naruto asked, feeling bad for Hinata, because she looked badly beaten up.

"Oh? I just wanted to make sure she wouldn't get back up." He smirked, turning away from Naruto to watch as Temari and Shikamaru made their way to the ring.

Everything else flew by. Shikamaru could have won his match against Temari, but he forfeited at the last minute. Ino and Sakura had both beaten each other so hard; they passed out at the same time, both of them losing (as according to Hayate). Naruto and Neji's fight was the most intense, and went on for the longest. Many of Naruto's friends were rooting for him, but no one truly believed he would win. Naruto surprised Neji in the end with a kage bunshin, and rasengan. Naruto had won at the last moment, by catching Neji by complete surprise. Shino had beat Zaku, in a very short match. However, when Shino fought against Sakon, he lost.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"You do understand…if Naruto and Sasuke both win their fight…they'll be fighting each other, right?" Temari asked Gaara, frowning.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. I don't know what the outcome will be. I have a feeling, though, Sasuke will have him forfeit." Gaara replied.

"Yeah," Temari sighed. "Me too."

'I have to beat Sasuke in order for Naruto to have a chance.' Temari thought; as she was called down to begin her match.

"I'll be back." Gaara said as he turned away from his siblings, making his way out of the stadium. He had to warn the Hokage about the attack that Suna had planned. He had thought about it for the month break, and finally came to a conclusion as of what to do about it. It was either betray his village, and tell the Hokage the plan, or go along with the plan, and attack Konoha, killing many (possibly even Naruto) in the process.

"What? You can't do this Hokage-sama! How do you know he's not lying to you about that? He's from another village, you don't know if he's telling the truth! He could be setting us up!" Kurenai yelled out in shock.

"You must go tell Hayate now, to end everything. Some will be promoted to Chuunin, some won't. But if what Gaara says is correct, we must end it now, before something terrible happens." Sandaime replied, frowning.

"But-"

"Go!"

Kurenai did as he said, and told Hayate that he had to cancel the rest of the matches. Everyone was disappointed. They had seen Naruto's fighting capability and wanted to see him fight against Sasuke, but there was nothing anyone could do with it.

There was much talk, while everyone was leaving the stadium, about what was going on, but no one would answer their questions.

"Sasuke, I wonder what's going on!" Naruto blinked.

"They'll tell us eventually. They have to." Sasuke replied.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Gaara, what have you done? Baki…and the village…you've betrayed everyone!" Kankuro was shaking. Gaara told the Hokage of Suna's plan to attack at the end of the exams, and the Hokage reacted. He approached Baki, and asked him and the rest of the Suna inhabitants to leave. He told Baki that he knew of the plan, and when Baki asked him how, Sandaime simply replied 'You just told me.' He did everything in his power to keep Gaara safe. He also tore up the parchment that held their peace treaty. Konoha wasn't going to be an ally to Suna any longer.

All ninja's from Suna were told to pack up, and leave the village immediately.

"I no longer care about that village, or Baki. I've been hated all my life, and now, I came here and found purpose. I'm not going back with you." Gaara replied. It was a big decision, but in the end, he realized he wouldn't lose anything by staying is Konoha. He'd only lose something if he went back to Suna.

"What? Gaara, you cant!" Temari replied.

"I already asked if I would be able to change my status from Suna-nin to Konoha-nin. He said yes. If you'd like, you can stay as well, it's all up to you." Gaara replied, leaving everything out in the open, for them to choose what they wanted.

Kankuro and Temari looked at one another, before giving Gaara their decision.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"As I had promised, despite the fact that the exams were interrupted, a handful of you will still be promoted to Chuunin. Congratulations. You and your families should be proud," Sandaime spoke out, gazing at the three young, new chuunins in front of him.

* * *

><p>All right, next chapter I will wrap things up (what happened to Hinata, who is now a chuunin, etc), and it will be the last chapter of this part. Then, there will be a three-year time skip.<p>

Hmm, so take a guess who the three ninja's who were promoted to chuunin are.

Are you all surprised about Gaara changing villages? What about Temari and Kankuro? Do you think they'll stay too?

Questions, comments?

And if you ever want to know about my update status for my stories, it's on the bottom of my profile!


	18. Leaving

Three young Genin stood in front of the Hokage, listening to his short explanation. They were the only three that were promoted to Chuunin. Shikamaru was promoted because he was good with planning out everything before he actually did it. He could have easily won against Temari, but instead decided to forfeit. Shino was able to stay clam in even the toughest situations. Naruto was a skilled and cautious fighter. He fought with reason and thought of others.

"Ah, my parents will want to have a party, how troublesome. I shouldn't even tell them." Shikamaru sighed. All he wanted to do was to go home and relax. However, he knew that, if his parents are to find out about his promotion to the Chuunin rank, they'd make a huge deal out of it, and that's not what Shikamaru wanted.

"I've already told your family, as well as yours, Shino, and Naruto, I told Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura. Kakashi was proud, and Sakura was excited. They'll be meeting you at Yaniku Q directly after this, to celebrate." Sandaime explained.

"Wha…what about Sasuke?" Naruto asked. He hoped that Sasuke was happy for him too.

"You three are dismissed now. I would like you to prepare yourselves. Your missions will be a lot more difficult now." Sandaime warned them. He was so proud of all of them, especially Naruto. The blond had progressed so much for such a young age. He didn't exactly have it easy growing up, either.

The small group left after Sandaime had dismissed them. He was worried about Naruto. He would never forget the angry look upon Sasuke's face when he had told team seven that Naruto was promoted to a Chuunin. Sandaime couldn't even attempt to explain how angry Sasuke looked. However, Sandaime knew Naruto would be okay. He was always okay. He was strong, tough, and for that, Sandaime was extremely grateful.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Naruto, over here!" Sakura called out. She stood up and waved her hand a few times, beckoning Naruto over to sit with her, Kakashi, and Sasuke. Around the table, there was food that they had been placed on the table a few moments earlier (So everything would be ready for Naruto when he showed up) as well as two presents. One from Sakura and one from Kakashi. There was nothing from Sasuke, but Naruto wasn't surprised.

"Hi Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-san." He replied cheerfully as he took a seat next to Sasuke, eying the delicious food.

"Oh Naruto-chan! I'm so happy for you!" She said, hugging him tightly. Kakashi pat him on the head gently, a form of congratulations, while Sasuke simply glared at him.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Shino, Kiba, and Kurenai stood around the bed that their teammate was currently laying in. They were all trying to be strong for her, but it was difficult. Her fight with Sasuke had damaged many of her internal organs. It also blocked off many of her chakra paths. However, the worst of it was the chidori to her spine, because it left her paralyzed from the waist down. She wouldn't be able to be a ninja anymore. Of course, there was always a chance for her to regain the feeling in her legs, but it was very slim.

No one had told her yet, because everyone was too crushed to do it. Her father wasn't disappointed. Her younger sister, Hanabi was already stronger than she was, so now she would be the heir of the family. In fact, it was almost as if this was what he wanted. Everyone thought it would be best if he were to be the one to break the news to her.

"Hinata, there is something I need to speak to you about," Her father began, and everyone took that as a cue to leave. They wanted to give her and her father some time alone, so he could explain everything to her. That and they didn't want to see the look on her face when he told her she wasn't going to be a ninja anymore, or the heir to the Hyuuga clan.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Sasuke-san! Stop!" Naruto yelled, shielding himself from Sasuke's brutal attacks. The raven had literally dragged him inside the house by the hair. Once inside, with the door closed, he kicked Naruto to the floor, making sure his foot made hard contact with Naruto's chest.

"What did I do now?! I passed the exams! I'm a chuunin now, isn't that what you wanted?! Didn't you tell me that I better pass?!" He asked. He heaved loudly as Sasuke aimed a harsh kick to his stomach.

"You…you ungrateful brat!" He yelled, picking Naruto up by the hair and shoving him up against the wall.

"Sasuke-san, stop! Let me go, bastard!" Naruto struggled. Nothing made sense now. Sasuke wanted him to pass the exams, and now that he did, Sasuke was angry. It didn't make sense at all! And what exactly made him ungrateful?!

"I can't believe you! I'll make you pay, Naruto, I'll make you pay!" Sasuke growled as he shoved Naruto to the floor, and walked away, leaving Naruto panting and coughing up blood on the floor.

"I don't…understand..."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"You do understand what this means, correct? You are technically betraying your own village. We are enemies with Suna, so you will also be their enemy if you decide to stay here." Sarutobi explained, frowning. He didn't mind doing the village transfer, (although it was more of a hassle because he wouldn't be getting permission from the other village) but he wanted to make sure they were completely serious, and understood what would be happening.

"Yes, we understand." Gaara replied, cold, but calm. He quickly glanced over at his siblings, relieved that they had decided to stay with him (but he would never admit that).

_Kankuro and Temari looked at one another, before giving Gaara their decision. _

"_We'll stay." They said together. Gaara's eyes widened slightly, shocked._

"_You will?" He replied, keeping his voice level so as not to show his shock._

"_Yes. You scare the crap out of us Gaara, I won't deny that." Kankuro replied._

"_...but you're still our little brother, and we care about you, so we want to make sure you're safe. What the village did to you wasn't fair. They should treat you like a human, not a weapon." Temari smiled, placing her hand on Gaara's shoulder. Although Gaara didn't show it, both Temari and Kankuro knew that Gaara was happy they decided to stay with him._

"There is a series of loyalty tests you must take first, and then you will speak for the council, your wish to transfer, and the final decision will be made."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Naruto smiled as he made his way back to his house. He had gone on his first mission as a chuunin, and was now returning home. The mission took two weeks to complete, and Shikamaru had been with him. Thankfully, the mission was a success, and Sarutobi commended them on their first successful mission. Naruto was excited to tell Sasuke about it.

Naruto was anxious to get home. When he had told Sasuke about his mission, the raven ignored him, and didn't even say goodbye. It had hurt Naruto, but he was more than used to it.

"Sasuke-san? I'm home!" Naruto announced as he entered the home he shared with Sasuke. Naruto was a little surprised to find out that it seemed to have not been lived in for about a week.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called out again, hoping the teen would reply, when he got nothing, he wandered into Sasuke's room, searching for any clues as to where he may be.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"Okay, everything is complete; you three are now officially Konoha shinobi. Here are your forehead protectors," Sandaime said, handing Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro their new Konoha forehead protectors. They took them slowly, almost hesitantly. Temari and Kankuro felt a small wave of sadness consume them. She was sure that Baki and their father were angry about everything that had happened.

"Thank you Hokage-sama," Temari replied for herself and her brothers.

The news quickly spread, that the three Suna-nin had been on a loyalty mission to become part of the village. The villagers, or course, didn't trust them. Not after what happened at the Chuunin exams. They all believed that they were going to betray them. That is was all a part of some master plan. Gaara, Kankuro and Temari didn't blame them. Instead, they understood, and vowed to gain their trust.

They already knew that they had gained the trust in some people. Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi, just to name a few.

Temari felt like she had already become good friends with Sakura. Gaara was anxious to tell Naruto the news, and Kankuro had a crush on one of the Genin's, but believed it was too early to mention it.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Hinata took the news a lot better than anyone would have imagined. She still believed her legs would heal, and kept on believing she would one day be a ninja again.

Even though the doctors and nurses told her it was near impossible. Even though her teammates told her she wouldn't be able to fight, and even though her father told her that her little sister, Hanabi, would be the heir, she still had hope.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

Naruto was devastated to find out that Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke were on a mission together. If he hadn't become a chuunin, he'd be with them. He was happy, however, with his new position. He wouldn't trade it for anything.

Even as he sat alone at Ichiraku, slowly slurping his ramen.

"Hello, Naruto." A deep voice greeted, causing Naruto's eyes to widen as he turned to the owner.

"Gaara?!" Naruto explained, smiling and jumping the red head in excitement, hugging him tightly.

"What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be back in your village?" He asked after the excitement had calmed down a little bit.

"My siblings and I have transferred here. We are now Konoha shinobi. I refused to be used as a weapon, and they decided to stay with me." Gaara explained.

"Wha...what?!" Naruto exclaimed, shocked. "Are you serious?! You're going to be living here from now on then? We can be friends?! We can go places together?" Naruto asked, smiling widely.

"Yes, of course. I would enjoy that, Naruto." Gaara replied.

**XOXOXOXOXO**

That night, after walking around the village for a few hours with Gaara, Naruto made his way home, alone. He wanted to invite Gaara over, but figured it may not be a good idea. If Sasuke had come home, he wouldn't be too happy about Gaara being over. For reasons unknown to Naruto, Sasuke did not like Gaara.

Naruto opened and closed the door to the house, a little surprised to see that there were some lights on.

"Sasuke-san? Are you home?" Naruto called out, getting a strange, uncomfortable feeling. The young blond made his way up the stairs, towards Sasuke's room, realizing that the light was on.

Slowly, Naruto walked up to the door and peered in, smiling as he saw Sasuke, sound asleep in his bed. Laughing gently, Naruto walked over to the elder boy, and climbed into bed next to him, cuddling close and smiling.

"Sasuke-san, I'm home."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

"You seen to really care for the boy, don't you?" Jiraiya sat with Kakashi at a small bar near the gates of Konoha.

"Yes, I just want him to be safe. Every time I picture him alone, in that house, with Sasuke..." Kakashi paused, taking a sip from his sake; "I fear for his life."

"And you called me because...?" Jiraiya asked.

"I want him to train with you. I think it'll be good for him. It'll make him stronger both physically and more importantly, mentally."

"I took him to train with me, didn't seem to help much." The sannin replied.

"I don't mean for a few weeks. I want you to take him for three years." Kakashi replied, causing Jiraiya to choke on his sake.

"Three years?! He'll interfere with my research for my writing! I can't possibly take that kid for that long!" Jiraiya complained. The last thing he wanted was a kid trailing behind him while he was snooping on woman's bath houses.

"He won't be a nuisance. Jiraiya, that's your God son you're talking about. Do you really want to see him break beyond repair? What would Kushina and Minato say?" Kakashi knew that would hit the older man hard. Jiraiya cared so deeply for Kushina and Minato, so he would want the best for their son.

"I suppose I can take him along. Have him meet me at the gate tomorrow morning and we'll be off. Tell him to pack, but don't tell him what's happening. Don't even tell him to say goodbye to Sasuke. If that Uchiha brat finds out what's happening, he'll never let Naruto go." Jiraiya explained as he took out some money and placed it on the counter, paying for both his and Kakashi's meal and drinks, before walking off.

"Thank you Jiraiya. You have no idea how much this is going to help him...in more ways than one."

**XOXOXOXOXO**

The next morning, not even knowing what was going on, where he was going, how long he'd be gone, or who he was going with, Naruto waiting impatiently at the Konoha gates.

"Hey brat, ready to go?" Jiraiya greeted, smiling.

"Ero-sennin?! What are you doing here?" Naruto gasped, shocked, but happy to see the man.

"I'm taking you for some much needed training." Jiraiya replied, leading Naruto towards to gates.

"Really?!" Naruto bounced slightly, excited. "For how long?" He asked.

"Three years."

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide, almost as if someone had just told him a loved on had died.

"N...no! I can't go for that long! Especially not without telling Sasuke! I can't be away from him for that long!" Naruto made a motion to run off, to run home, but his wrist was caught.

"You can, and you will. Sasuke will be fine. Kakashi will explain to him."

"No, but-"

"There's a time in your life where you have to let go. I'll help you, kid. I'll help you become strong. I'll help you stand up to him. You just need to trust me."

"I can't leave him." Naruto frowned, trying to hold back his tears. He couldn't imagine his life without Sasuke.

"And you won't. We won't be gone forever, and you can write to him. These three years will fly by. You'll get so much stronger you won't even notice that you've been gone for three years."

"I...I guess so. Kakashi-sensei will tell him everything, right?"

"Yes, brat. Everything."

"Then let's go!"

* * *

><p>Ahh, so there you go! Naruto is going away!<p>

So that means the next time this is updated, there will be a three year time-skip!

I wonder how Sasuke will turn out, huh? Since he isn't with Orochimaru!

So tell me what you think, please! About everything that has happened thus far!

After this time skip, things will go much faster!

Also, anyone have an idea for a good picture for this story?

And don't forget to vote in my poll, please!


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